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On a related note...
There's a wireless ad on the radio around here now that goes something like...
"Kids... tired of your parents bugging you about going over your minutes every month?"
At that point, my wife and I always say in unison... "THEN GET A FUCKIN' JOB AND PAY FOR IT YOURSELF!"
Like it's your Constitutional right to have your parents pay for your cell phone when you're in 9th grade. You want a camera phone that gives you thousands of minutes a month, YOU pay for it. You want a simple phone you can use to get in touch with me to tell me you'll be home late or need to be picked up somewhere, I will be happy to supply you with a pre-paid phone with 100-200 minutes a month.
Other than that, I will happily supply you with all the quarters you need to use a pay phone. If your friends parents see fit to pay for your friends ridiculous plans and funky phones, then they probably won't mind you placing a call on it now and then.
Of course, my oldest son is 3 and it's going to be a while before I have to implement this rule.
Anyway...
As a kid, my brothers and I mowed/raked the lawn, took out trash, did dishes, shovelled snow, and were fortunate enough to have parents who thought that those chores deserved a "salary". I think it's an excellent introduction to the concept work=pay. Other kids I knew did all those chores for free simply because they were told to. I don't think an allowance "just because" is necessarily a bad thing, but it could lead to taking your parents for granted and an underappreciation of how you will eventually have to earn your keep in this world. In other words, these kids should STILL have chores to do around the house, even if you don't want to tie the allowance to the chores directly.
-Mikey
Last edited by MikeyChalupa; 11-02-2004 at 12:07 PM..
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