Parents Just Don’t Understand
My e-mail had a rather unpleasant surprise for me this morning. I have my Verizon bill e-mailed to me so I can see the damages before the paper bill arrives. I was amazed that my usual $120 per month bill had ballooned to twice that amount. Now we had an issue in July where my daughter was using the cell phone to call her friends and we had a $500 bill. She lost her privileges for a month on that one but apparently that lesson did not make a big enough impression.
As I reviewed the bill, my wife had a minimum of costs but the majority of the calls. She uses the cell phone for her business and that is why we have them. My phone had more cost but less calls. I hate cell phones and would rather watch Barbara Streisand movies (and I would rather be blinded than watch anything with her in it) than talk on the cell phone. It was bad enough having to carry a pager. At least with a pager you could ignore the vibration. With a cell phone, it an albatross that must be carried everywhere. People depend on their ability to get in touch with you. Let alone the number of people that will chatter on and on while driving their cars. Look out the window and count sometime. I was astounded.
My daughter has been using her cell phone in the afternoons which is a no-no at our house (unless it is a Verizon to Verizon call.) She can call anyone she wants after 9:00 PM (her bed time is 10:00) or on weekends when the minutes are free. But $120 worth of phone calls by a teenage girl is too much, especially after she had the $325 bill in July.
The big question is what to do with the phone? I know that it will no longer be in her possession after I get home today. Should I strip her of using all together unless I hand it to her? Should she have her evening and weekend privileges with it? This is a tough one because she has just started doing that teenage thing where any comment about her lack of effort around the house is immediately responded with you are always yelling at me. She then claims homework and disappears to her room where the music starts and the floor begins it vibrating routine.
I guess the fair thing is to ask her what she thinks her punishment should be. After all, she should get some input into her future will be. The best part is I can take it or leave it. I don’t have to be her friend. It is good to know that we can be friends but right now I have to be a parent. And parents just don’t understand.
Icool
Cobb
As I reviewed the bill, my wife had a minimum of costs but the majority of the calls. She uses the cell phone for her business and that is why we have them. My phone had more cost but less calls. I hate cell phones and would rather watch Barbara Streisand movies (and I would rather be blinded than watch anything with her in it) than talk on the cell phone. It was bad enough having to carry a pager. At least with a pager you could ignore the vibration. With a cell phone, it an albatross that must be carried everywhere. People depend on their ability to get in touch with you. Let alone the number of people that will chatter on and on while driving their cars. Look out the window and count sometime. I was astounded.
My daughter has been using her cell phone in the afternoons which is a no-no at our house (unless it is a Verizon to Verizon call.) She can call anyone she wants after 9:00 PM (her bed time is 10:00) or on weekends when the minutes are free. But $120 worth of phone calls by a teenage girl is too much, especially after she had the $325 bill in July.
The big question is what to do with the phone? I know that it will no longer be in her possession after I get home today. Should I strip her of using all together unless I hand it to her? Should she have her evening and weekend privileges with it? This is a tough one because she has just started doing that teenage thing where any comment about her lack of effort around the house is immediately responded with you are always yelling at me. She then claims homework and disappears to her room where the music starts and the floor begins it vibrating routine.
I guess the fair thing is to ask her what she thinks her punishment should be. After all, she should get some input into her future will be. The best part is I can take it or leave it. I don’t have to be her friend. It is good to know that we can be friends but right now I have to be a parent. And parents just don’t understand.
Icool
Cobb
posted by Cobb at
6:26 AM
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