| Kids these days...and parents
October 11, 2005
I've recently heard a string of funny things, uh, mostly from the same people, that I thought were too good to pass up.
"Man, all these parking tickets are getting to be expensive. And speeding tickets cost a LOT these days!"
"Geez, our cell-phone bills and long distance charges are really starting to pile up!"
"Sheesh, these bounced check fees are just getting out of hand."
"The clothes styles that are in today are so expensive! You wouldn't believe what they pay even for jeans!"
In every case it was parents remarking about their teenagers.
Uh, hello? Notice to any parent: If you pay the bill the kids will rack it up!
My sneaking suspicion is that if a teen paid their own tickets they wouldn't get any. Same with long distance calls---you'd see a lot more 37¢ stamps used. Same with bounced check fees. Same with clothes---when they buy their own you suddenly see em in thriftshops.
But I spose this is the tip of the iceberg for full-on teen care. The next big obvious items are cars, college tuition, rent and vacations.
But no one should be surprised that it adds up when they're the ones footing the bills.
The flipside is how shocked these parents would be at how CHEAP a kid can live who's doing it DIY. Ramen rules! And, hey, closets can make pretty good living quarters.
Actually, in my case, my folks paid for minimal necessities and I don't recall noticing too excruciating of a lack. I was too busy with my own big projects to notice that I was missing out too badly on trendy things. I covered my own vices. My friends and I used the mails.
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