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Garage Sale just shows how SS/ DH think

step off already's picture

We finally had a garage sale after moving into this house together last summer.

When I garage sale I go through my garage, closet, kitchen and jids' rooms to thin out the stuff. DH and Ss13 each have lots of stuff (that never gets used). I've been prepping DH to get rid of the stuff. He said he'd have to "ask SS" since some of the stuff was his.

I told him, "oh hell no. You don't "ask" your son what we are keeping/ selling. You tell him"

DH and SS had several motorized vehicles and bikes that are taking up space. SS also has literally 100 video games in his overstuffed room.

DH was able to convince SS to sell a go cart, but informed me that he'd Have to give SS some of the money since it was his. I explained to him that he was the parent, the one purchasing things,maintaining them, and getting Rid if them when they were no longer being used.

One of dh's friends overheard me and have DH some shit for his parenting style /: lack there of.

I won't even go into what happened with the video games, but let's just say that if they belonged to my children, I would have already taken them to GameStop to get money for them jut as I'm about to do with the kindles I purchased for all 4 kids that they can't seem to use.

Anyway. What do you all think?

I think parents own everything and keep the moneyt sold and decide on how it's spent. (all money earned at our sale is being out towards next weekend's family trip).

Comments

PeanutandSons's picture

If I buy it, I decide when to sell it/ throw it/ give it away. I also would keel the money from any sale.

If the kid bought it with their own money, from birthday or Xmas or whatever, then I think its theirs and they would get to keep money from selling it.

SMof2Girls's picture

I get where you're coming from, and I do agree that parents are the authority in the household, but I can't imagine never letting my skids OWN their things.

We do buy a lot for the kids, but they also save their allowance and buy their own stuff too. We teach them about donating old toys and things of that nature, and we regularly have them throw out broken items as part of cleaning their room.

They're only 5 and 7, so we don't get a lot of argument from them on this.

I know when I was growing up, my stuff was my stuff. When we had yard/garage sales, I was never told what I had to sell. I was given the option to participate and put things up for sale, and the money earned was mine to keep. My parents didn't spend lavishly on us as kids, so if we sold something, chances were my parents weren't getting us a new one anytime soon. We bought most of our own extras with money we earned at yard sales or doing chores/small odd jobs.

If they never truly own anything, how will they ever learn to earn money and be responsible for their possessions?

step off already's picture

My kids are no quite teens yet, so I go through their rooms often and thin out there stuff. I also ask hen to do this twice a year on their own.

I agree that as they actually get older and save and purchase, they can decide what to do with it. However, I will always "guide" them.

And you'll never. Ever. Hear me ask my kid if I can sell something I purchased.

An did u mention that the vehicle we sold was sitting in the yard for the past year deteriorating. . .

luchay's picture

I think that my kids own their things.

Regardless of who bought them orignally.

I also encourage a big clean out before Christmas and that they choose stuff to donate to charity. Probably the only things I consider fair game for me to sell and keep the money are their clothes (outgrown) these I sell on ebay and reinvest in the next size.

Any gift my kids are given are theirs. They also get a small amt of pocket money which they save some and can spend some. They need to learn tge responsibility of ownership and taking care of their things and one of the first steps in teaching this is allowing them to OWN stuff. It is disrespectful to them to just take their stuff and sell it with them having no say AND not giving them the money from it.