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[Richie London]

well its my sons 15th today, hes been hassleing me for a laptop as his is broke beyond repair after only 2 yrs.
what happened to the days when it was a be thankful for what you got???

AND!!!!!! hes asked for a scooter for his 16th next yr  

richie

[Marks DTM Calib]

The only way my kids will get such extravagence is to get out, get a part time job and work for such items as its to much to spend for a brithday!

When you have to work, save and buy your own things then you look after them.  

As for scooters.....cant say I am convinced that a 16 year old has the common sense to bet  loose with one :-?

[Andy B]

......
As for scooters.....cant say I am convinced that a 16 year old has the common sense to bet  loose with one :-?

I suppose each kid should be taken on his/her own merit however it was a mistake to put my lad on the road at 19 yrs. He's been sadly lacking in any common sense at all.  :-?

[Jay w]

some of this expectation can be blamed upon the media, especially when kids are younger.

Our 6 year old watches TV, normally somethign like Nick, disney or cartoon network, these channels are absolutly stacked out with adverts for expensive toys, some of the adverts pretty much tell the kids to ask for it.

Some scandanavian countries have banned the advertising of kids toys   whilst this may be seen to be a little harsh it does relieve the presure of kids constantly asking for things that they either
A) don't need
or
B) don't want but have been convinced by marketing that they need

We have spent the last 4 years saying no to my daughter on various things, there have been times when she has hated me for it, but i don't care, i don't have a bottomless pit of money.

Kids expectations get higher and higher as they get older, before long we will have kids asking for deposits of first homes as 21st birthday presents!!!

My Son had a set amount of lessons for his 17th  and we bought him a car for his 18th, some would see that as being too generous but what he got was a 12 year old car that was MOT'd and roadworthy, the rest was up to him.

[Andy B]

....
My Son had a set amount of lessons for his 17th  and we bought him a car for his 18th, some would see that as being too generous but what he got was a 12 year old car that was MOT'd and roadworthy, the rest was up to him.

Similar to us then. He paid for his own lessons - he was working by then. The car is a £500 M reg Astra F & we put a bit towards the scandelous cost of insurance. He has though been a classic example of why insurance costs are as they are.  

[Marks DTM Calib]

....
My Son had a set amount of lessons for his 17th  and we bought him a car for his 18th, some would see that as being too generous but what he got was a 12 year old car that was MOT'd and roadworthy, the rest was up to him.

Similar to us then. He paid for his own lessons - he was working by then. The car is a £500 M reg Astra F & we put a bit towards the scandelous cost of insurance. He has though been a classic example of why insurance costs are as they are.  

I would never buy my children a car......if they cant afford to buy it then they cant afford to run it because at the end of the day, the purchase cost is generally the smallest outlay.

[Martin_1962]

The only way my kids will get such extravagence is to get out, get a part time job and work for such items as its to much to spend for a brithday!

When you have to work, save and buy your own things then you look after them.  

As for scooters.....cant say I am convinced that a 16 year old has the common sense to bet  loose with one :-?

These are not too expensive



As to 16 year olds on mopeds which if he has any self respect would not want a "cooter", get them on a training scheme first

[Del Boy]

Well I can say that my son get's spoilt really, but only at christmas and birthday's, but he always treats his things with care and respect so i'm happy for him to have it, if it's not at to much expense. If he need's something though he will buy it himself with paper round money.

[Martin_1962]

....
My Son had a set amount of lessons for his 17th  and we bought him a car for his 18th, some would see that as being too generous but what he got was a 12 year old car that was MOT'd and roadworthy, the rest was up to him.

Similar to us then. He paid for his own lessons - he was working by then. The car is a £500 M reg Astra F & we put a bit towards the scandelous cost of insurance. He has though been a classic example of why insurance costs are as they are.  

I would never buy my children a car......if they cant afford to buy it then they cant afford to run it because at the end of the day, the purchase cost is generally the smallest outlay.

This may not work as you want, if they go into further education they will not have the money but will need the transport. More to the point will you want to run them around all the time.

My parents paid towards a bike, I took over HP when I was on holiday, pocket money paid for fuel and insurance, and I was far from the only teenager helped towards a bike, yes it was a cheap one but it was transport - oh and my parents had no car at the time.

However you do have a few methods to get them on the road cheap.

for 16

Buy a cool 50cc cheap and restore it, the sports mopeds are now out of reach.

for 17

1) Buy a learner suitable bike cheap as a restoration project about 2 years before he can ride it legally, rebuild it together

2) Buy a suitable old car (try for a tired pre 73) and rebuild it together until 17, he can help out of pocket money and paper round moeny or whatever.

[cem_devecioglu]

Consuming expensive things is continously pumped by the media..

And kids think that its something normal to have them..


Really they must earn and buy themselves to understand how hard to get the money..

[Marks DTM Calib]

This may not work as you want, if they go into further education they will not have the money but will need the transport. More to the point will you want to run them around all the time.

What a load of rubbish....I went through higher ed without a car, I used, trains, buses, pushbike and walked......with pushbike and walking as the main transport.

And it was a 3 mile walk to uni.

It was a 2 mile walk everyday to secondary school.

[Jay w]

i wont disagree with any of the comments on here, however i do believe that there are times that kids need a 'leg up'

When we gave the car to my son the deal was that he insure it, that was as much as the purchase cost of the car, if he could not afford the insurance then i wouldn't have bought it.

[bob.dent]

I think there's so much peer pressure on kids today from other kids and the media that they EXPECT these kind of things. Trouble is they really don't appreciate the value of money.

[Martin_1962]

i wont disagree with any of the comments on here, however i do believe that there are times that kids need a 'leg up'

When we gave the car to my son the deal was that he insure it, that was as much as the purchase cost of the car, if he could not afford the insurance then i wouldn't have bought it.

I think leg ups are part of being a parent, my daughter wants a mobile phone, she also wants a portable music player. She will get a PMP equipped phone for her birthday BUT she will pay for all calls, she wants it to keep in touch when she starts secondary school or if I will be late picking her up or if she gets a bus ect ect.

I have decided when old enough we will help the children get on the road but not the whole cost, I have already said that if my daughter needs private transport we will get her a cheap old moped and do it up.

The boys I have no idea - one is sort of trustable but the other is stupid, might end up the sensible boy having to run the silly one around.

[Martin_1962]

This may not work as you want, if they go into further education they will not have the money but will need the transport. More to the point will you want to run them around all the time.

What a load of rubbish....I went through higher ed without a car, I used, trains, buses, pushbike and walked......with pushbike and walking as the main transport.

And it was a 3 mile walk to uni.

It was a 2 mile walk everyday to secondary school.

I grew up miles from anywhere and my parents got me on the road at minimal cost.

However at my age when we were young bikes were cheaper and more popular, and many parents helped to give their children independance. The car drivers I remember got lots of help off their parents, not rich but helping to get old bangers roadworthy ect.

I think a young person who has helped to rebuild or purchase a vehicle will be careful. There is a huge difference between part purchasing transport and giving a young person a car.