I have a question- nothing earth shattering but my husband and I have differing thoughts on something regarding his daughter, my stepdaughter, who just turned 13. Last year for her birthday, we gave her an iPod Mini. Well she lost it after about 6 months. She is a bit of a slob so we figured it was lost in her room. But she's since cleaned her room pretty well, quite a few times and it has not shown up. She had been taking it to school sometimes so it could have gotten stolen at school. Anyways, we were upset that she lost it, and I'm sure said we wouldn't be getting her another one any time soon. I am OK with sticking to that. The one we got her cost quite a bit of money, and if she can't be responsible enough to keep track of it, then she doens't need one yet. My husband was thinking along those same lines too. Until our 10 yr old nephew came over with his own the other day and you could see how jealous she was. Since then, my husband has been saying we should get her one like her cousin's. She is leaving to go visit her grandparents out of town and he thinks she needs one for the plane ride. She has expressed some desire for another one, especially after seeing her cousin's the other night. My question is- its only been a year since she was given her first one. Would you give her one for the trip, or not? Should I stick to my feelings, or am I just being a "wicked stepmother"? Any thoughts are appreciated!! Thanks
If you and your husband think the same, that she's not ready to care for one, then I would continue to stick with it. Just because she is jealous over her cousin's iPod, then if she got a replacement that would be sending her the wrong message. If she wants a replacement I think she should have to work to earn it. If kids think that their parents will replace things even though they don't take care of it, they'll never learn the value of money and proper pride of ownership.
Kids don't NEED iPods for plane rides. It's a luxury that I think too few kids realise these days.
I'd say, no, don't get her another one. Yes it's a bummer that her iPod got stolen, if it did. That's life. But, you provided her with one already (which you didn't NEED to), if she wants another one, she should earn it herself. Then she'll learn how to take care of it from all the hours she had to work to get the money.
Also, it doesn't have to be an iPod. There are a lot of other less expensive versions of MP3 players. I got one for $42 on Amazon that works just fine. She should be able to earn that much pretty easily if she really wants to.
