Why bother

Parent Cafe
1

<p>to get your kids cellphones. They conveniently don’t have them when they really do NEED them.</p>

<p>D just pulled in the driveway, I thought she was dragging her muffler. Nope, blew a tire on the interstate connector. Ten minutes from home. She rode home on the rim. What’s left of the tire couldn’t even be recycled into anything than maybe a mini-straw they give you with juice boxes.</p>

<p>Me: “Why didn’t you call me?”</p>

<p>D: “My cell phone was in Chris’ car.”</p>

<p>Me: “Who’s Chris? I thought you were with Courtney.”</p>

<p>D: “Chris is the guy I’ve been kind of dating.” We met him after we went to the gym."</p>

<p>Me: "Why was it in his car and not in your purse? "</p>

<p>D: “Purse fell over, must have fallen out.”</p>

<p>Me: “Why was your purse open? Is your wallet in your purse?” </p>

<p>Duh.</p>

<p>D: “Well, YOU lost YOUR cell phone.”</p>

<p>Me: “No. It fell off my belt at a customer’s. In it’s case. I knew it halfway home. I called the client and told her EXACTLY where it was was, and held till she confirmed it.”</p>

<p>D: “Oh.”</p>

<p>This from a girl that lost two phones within 6 months of having one. Somehow wrecked three more. Repeated dropping, maybe just wore em out from overuse.</p>

<p>All I know is that there’s always an excuse.</p>

<p>Her car. Her tire. Her rim. Her money.</p>

<p>D: “Dad… before you go to work tomorrow, can you show me again how to change a tire.”</p>

<p>Translation: Dad, put the donut on. Pluhhhhhhhheeeeeze.</p>

<p>I showed her last week (for the thirteenth time) when she had a flat in the driveway.</p>

<p>(No the blow-out tonight wasn’t the plugged tire for those interested.)</p>

<p>I hope that when your kids graduate they are employed and earning enough so as not to come back home after graduating.</p>

<p>And me and wife thought we were going to enjoy an empty nest. Maybe even sit nekkid in the living room and watch the submarine races.</p>

<p>Not in this life.</p>

<p>End of rant.</p>

2

<p>I can so relate. I thought at this stage of our lives we can have exciting alone time minus the kids. Instead they are BOTH living with us, and cramming our style. </p>

<p>To escape our kids and have some alone time we have to go away. :rolleyes:</p>

<p>I know people who have their married kids with grandchildren living with them, so I guess I should count my blessings.</p>

3

<p>I’ve sung that song too. Also, they don’t answer the cell phone when they can see that it is you. I’ve borrowed others’ phone just so they will answer.</p>

4

<p>Mathson is always letting the battery run out, but I never have any trouble reaching younger brother!</p>

5

<p>We are the mean and awful parents!!! Our rule… we pay the cell phone bill, if you don’t answer when we call, you hand it over. Works all the time. ;)</p>

6

<p>Mine is the same way. But what’s annoying is that it transfers over to other stuff. I sent her back to Miami with the new tags and registration for her car. Had to remind her twice to put the new tag on. Then she got pulled over, and didn’t have the registration. She cannot find it. It’s lost. How? All one has to do is put the piece of paper in the glove box. </p>

<p>She looses keys, phones, automobiles, books, wallets, IDs, etc. You name it and it will need to be reported stolen, replaced, etc. I think she replaces her drivers license ten times a year because she keeps losing them. I have given up. It’s her responsibility now. It’s just not my problem any more.</p>

7

<p>Have no fear, she will be just like her, Mother. See ya in the Cave.</p>

8

<p>I’ve had my cell phone for about 6 years because each time I’m eligible for a new phone, I end up getting it for one of my kids who has broken or lost his. The phone companies have a real racket going as you cannot buy a cheap phone without a plan. We have a family plan so we only pay a base charge of $10 per phone per month and share the minutes. I had to spin my oldest off the plan. He now has a “terrorist” phone which is very basic and he has to buy his minutes. If he loses it, it’s under $10 to replace. He hasn’t lost it yet; has kept it longer than any of those nice phone we gave him as gifts. But the phone is always off or uncharged or out of service area. Nothing new.</p>

9

<p>One good way to get your kids to take your cellphone calls—have a private number – then they are never sure if it’s you or someone else w/a private #. When I occasionally call son on my biz line (non-private) I notice he doesn’t pick up nearly as frequently. :-)</p>

<p>NorthMinnesota has a good idea, too!</p>

10

<p>Ah, violadad. Been there, done that. You have my sympathies.</p>

<p>When my son graduated from college, he had trouble finding a self-supporting job with benefits in this area. I pulled a couple of strings via family connections and got him a job interview with a big firm in another city. He’s now gainfully employed there, but he still apparently hasn’t quite figured things out. The other day, he called to tell me had $2 in his checking account that had to last him until his next paycheck the following week. “Too bad,” I said. “You’ll have to eat peanut butter.” (I purposefully neglected to remind him that he has a savings account in an online bank and a credit card that he never uses.)</p>

<p>As for cellphones, my two daughters have had six broken or lost cellphones in the past three years. After the first lost cellphone, I made my daughter split the difference with me for an exorbitantly-priced new phone. The next time we tried buying a used phone on Ebay, but the phone didn’t work. I finally gritted my teeth and made my daughters pay for cellphone insurance–which totally goes against my principles–and thank goodness I did. The insurance has replaced four cellphones over the last two years.</p>

<p>And one last thing: If your kids won’t answer their cellphones or listen to their voicemails, send a text message saying “CALL ME ASAP.” Works every time. Whenever I send that message, my kids always call back immediately and ask, “What’s wrong, Mom?” Just be careful of crying wolf too often.</p>

11

<p>My D occasionally forgets her phone, but hasn’t lost it yet. What she keeps losing is her glasses. Lost them last spring, but it was time for check-up and new pair anyway. Got the new ones; found the old ones. Went to college with both pair, and within two months had lost both pair. Pointed out that she wouldn’t be eligible for another pair for 2 years. She kept insisting that her old pair was at home, and I tore the house apart looking for them.</p>

<p>A couple months later she found the old pair in the back of her dorm closet. Never found the new pair. After much nagging, she did make half-hearted rounds to ask in various places if they might have been turned in, but never found them.</p>

<p>Fortunately her eyes aren’t real bad. But that’s part of the problem, since she doesn’t wear them consistently, and is not likely to notice she doesn’t have them till the next time she needs them.</p>

12

<p>When my kids are really making me crazy with their irresponsibility, I remind myself of some of the really careless things I did when I was that age. It helps.</p>

13

<p>I buy six pairs of glasses a year (for me). They don’t get lost, they just hide.</p>

14

<p>D lost her cell phone in an airport last week (first plane trip w/o adult supervision - maybe she still needs her mom to say “do you have everything before you get on the plane?” </p>

<p>we had insisted SHE pay for insurance on this phone, her 3rd, so after checking lost & found and waiting a few days, we called the insurance company. insurance replacement was no hassle, but they replaced it with a “lesser” model, at least lesser in D’s eyes. </p>

<p>good life lesson, i thought. now she knows that having insurance doesn’t always completely wipe away the result of being careless.</p>

<p>only one problem: before the replacement phone arrived, her old phone showed up. some kind soul found it, turned it into the airline, they scrolled through her texts and found the address of her summer camp…she is thrilled to have her phone back. so much for the life lesson.</p>

15

<p>Well…my kids haven’t lost their cell phones…yet.</p>

<p>But a friend’s DD lost her key ring which she had hooked to her drivers license. They had to get all the locks in their house changed. Expensive lesson…do NOT put your keys and license (which has the address) on the same key ring.</p>

16

<p>(She sheepishly admits) I’m the one who forgets my phone.</p>

17

<p>Or remembers but it isn’t charged</p>

18

<p>Neither of my kids has ever lost their phone. I am convinced D’s phone is physically attached to her body. </p>

<p>Sometimes when I call and they don’t answer, I text them and write “Call me.” They respond every time, I think texts go thru even when there’s not enough reception for a phone call.</p>

<p>I also find that if I text my kids instead of calling, they’re more likely to respond. Their friends assume they are texting another friend, so they don’t look as “uncool” as they would talking to Mom.</p>

19

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<p>Yes. I learned this during Katrina, as my oldest friend evacuated (good thing) to Florida, and I couldn’t call her, but could text her. Eventually got to the point where I could text her and she could call me back, but I couldn’t call her at all.</p>

<p>And on the cell phone/kids thing, S hasn’t lost a cell phone yet, only pieces of one, when he threw the phone down in anger. You betcha he had to pay for the part he never found.</p>