Who pays for your kids' electronics?

Parent Cafe
61

<p>Wellspring…if we are counting NOW…we have 1 netbook, 1 dell laptop, 1 HP laptop, 1 kindle, 1 nook, 1 iPad, 2 desktops (those are DH’s workstations), and 3 smart phones. </p>

<p>But when the kids were in HS 10 years ago…we had one desktop…and that’s it.</p>

62

<p>We paid for everything electronics. Each kid has their own desktop and laptop and cellphone. I even paid for video recorder(which D1 used on one of her internship) and one fancy graphics computer for D1 as a Xmas gift. For her business, D1 bought a few laptops for her employees so that they could work on the same project. She also bought tons of camera/video/sound equipment for her work.</p>

63

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<p>Families I know like that cobble limited ad-based free dialup ISPs like the 10 hours free/month Netzero or Juno. </p>

<p>In the NYC area, we had a free unlimited dialup internet service ran by metconnect. However, I have found they did away with it a few years ago. </p>

<p>Good for checking email and very light browsing. However, not really enough to do much more than that.</p>

64

<p>The people I know who don’t have internet at home don’t know enough to know about dial-up vs. wifi, Netzero or Juno. They don’t know what they don’t know and every day they are falling further behind. Most of us have been on a learning curve for the past 10 or 15 years but some people have been left behind.</p>

65

<p>Our home has only 2 adults, 4 desktops (S and D left theirs behind and H keeps upgrading them), 2-3 laptops, 1 iPad mini, 1 kindle keyboard and 2 kindle fires. </p>

<p>I believe D has one desktop, 3 monitors, 1 netbook and 1 kindle fire. Last we knew, S had 1 desktop with 3 monitors, 1 laptop, 1 netbook, 2 kindle fires, 1 tablet. He may have acquired more–we will see if he brings any of his toys home tomorrow. Both S and D also have Nintendo DS of their own. </p>

<p>Yes, having electronics (even tho that cost IS a barrier) is cheaper than the ongoing monthly service fees. Few have access to free wifi hotspot access. Agree those without electronics they readily use fall further behind quickly. </p>