cell phones and teenagers
Forums:
So here's a question. I wonder how others would handle this.
SO and his ex-wife have three children. In their divorce agreement, ex-wife assumed responsibility for the cell phones his 16yo son and 15yo daughter have. We assumed responsibility for the youngest daughters' cell phone. Well, his 15yo has has and ruined three phones, the last one very recently. Ex-wife is now asking SO replace the phone since the ex has replaced the other two.
He is very reluctant to "help" since she is responsible IN WRITING!
any thoughts on this? We know the ex is purposely using manipulation to get SO to do what she wants. If he doesn't help, she will make him look bad to his daughter....
She also feels the need to
She also feels the need to let him know how much she spends on the kids when they are with her...We never mention how much we spend because, 1. it's none of her business, and 2. because we don't feel the need. if they kids need something when they are with us, we do what we can!
I'd tell the 15 yo that
I'd tell the 15 yo that you're not replacing the phone. Breaking 3 phones in a short amount of time means she's not being careful enough. You feel that if she paid for the phone herself, it might mean more to her. To that end, you will help her find a part time job of some sort. (Maybe pay her to mow your lawn, even?) When she has enough money saved, you'll take her to the store for a new phone. I might even add something like, "If your Mom doesn't feel this is important, she can always buy you a phone herself. However, I think you need to learn the value of money and taking care of your possessions, and I think this would be a good life lesson for you."
The 15 yr old is obviously
The 15 yr old is obviously not mature enough to take care of a phone. If she really MUST have one then get her a cheap Pay by the Minute phone from Walmart.
Dollar store chargers....
Dollar store chargers.... that's what I would recommend.
You need to change habits and
You need to change habits and not cell phones . put this case again in court for consideration and I an sure the court will take care
Sorry BM, you win some and
Sorry BM, you win some and you lose some.. you're losing this time.
That's my mentality.
Though you guys have divorced
Though you guys have divorced but still you need to take care of your children. Having so much addiction to cell phones is not good at-all. For your concern, 70% of teen car accidents are due to distraction by cell phones, so do you want to take such risk with your children? I don't think so! Being parent, you have some responsibility and you need to perform them well. Find some parental tips below to restrict your child. http://www.slideshare.net/europeanservicecenter/getting-a-permit-teen-dr...
She can't take care of a
She can't take care of a phone? She doesn't get one. Simple.
DP is looking into getting
DP is looking into getting SD12 a new phone. She has a limited access one now, which I think is plenty. After a year, she's drained the battery so often that it doesn't hold a charge for very long (after repeated instructions for her to charge it each night and never let it get into the red value) - she was complaining about it the other day to me. I just told her that she damaged the battery by not charging it properly and to talk with her dad.
I'm getting very good at saying "talk to your dad." It's LIBERATING!
DP wants to get a family plan going. It would definitely be cheaper and more reliable and my provider is great and I get a discount via work. I did the initial information call to the cell company, let DP know the basics and now it's up to him to discuss it with me and the cell phone company together. I won't bring it up again.
It's alllllllll on DP. I have nothing, nothing, nothing to do with ANY electronic devices for the SDs. I'm very clear on that.