I told you so, I told you so, I told you so
My DH made the stupid decision to give SS13 a cell phone about 6 months ago. I told him it was a bad idea, that SS13 is to irresponsible and stupid to care for and be responsible with a cell phone. Right away it seemed obvious that I was right, because SS13 lost it. DH foolishly replaced it, and a few weeks later he was caught with it at school. And yet, he was allowed to keep the phone after a stern talking to. Well, last night we got the cell phone bill and there were $282.16 of text overages. DH blew his top. It was awesome because we had the kids last night, so SS13 got the immediate reaction to opening the bill. So then DH takes his phone and starts looking through the text history. It was all immature crap that 13 year olds say to each other, and some vulgar. I actually thought for a split second that DH was going to strangle him! There I sat, enjoying the entire exchange...basking in the glow of being right, and SS13 getting his stupid ass chewed. It's really the small victories that keep me going.
Haha I hope you were able to
Haha I hope you were able to hide your smile as SS was getting his little butt chewed.. }:)
It does feel good when you know better but the parent didn't listen & it bites them in the butt later. Just from time to time anyways. Guess its assuring to know that you are not always in the wrong!
Thanks for sharing your story..we needed that
I did hide my enormous smile.
I did hide my enormous smile. I didn't even say "I told you so" to my husband. He knew right away that he was wrong. Last night over pillow talk he said, "I can't believe how bad he fucked this up. I should have listened to you. I wanted so badly for him to succeed at something instead of screwing up everything."
!!!!!!!!!Can you believe it? I'd like to think that every step mom out there will have at least one of these moments in their life.
SOOOOOOO awesome for you! Not
SOOOOOOO awesome for you!
Not only did you get to be right, you got to see the kid suffer his dad's wrath for fucking up AND you got your DH to say he should've listened to you. DAYUM! SWEET!
I'm happy for ya.
Oh that would've been
Oh that would've been AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!
Anyone who doesn't pay the
Anyone who doesn't pay the extra few bucks and get kids unlimited texting is jut asking for it. My BFF learned that the hardway...$800 one month with her daughter about 5 years ago.
Holy shit! I wonder if that
Holy shit! I wonder if that would have been the tipping point for DH. Maybe he would have disowned SS. I would pay way more than $2000 to never see SS again.
Why wound anyone buy a
Why wound anyone buy a teenager a cell phone and NOT get unlimited texting...that was pretty much just asking the kid to screw up!Considering most the time the carriers do not let you know when you are about to go over your limit!
Does anyone have a skid with
Does anyone have a skid with an iphone? Mine is 13 (daddy got it for him when he was 12) and he's tried to claim that this is normal and that tons of kids his age have one. We pay the bill (plus CS as we have the skids EOW).
My DS12 has a used one. It
My DS12 has a used one. It was cheap to add him to my family plan. He's had it since Christmas and not lost it or broken it (yet). Several kids in his grade have one too. I don't mind doing it because his dad does not have a landline, so now he has a phone while he is there. It's also handy for reaching him for coordinating activities/rides. And he's home alone after school til I get home from work, so I can text-nag him about homework and stuff.
Thanks for the feedback mama.
Thanks for the feedback mama. SS13 has broken his by cracking the screen to the point of not being able to use it anymore. He's also "lost" it for weeks, however thankfully it has always shown back up. His younger sister actually threw it recently, which caused the screen to finally crack to the point of being unusable. DH replaced the screen himself and that cost about $25 (better than the cost of a new one I know).
I wouldn't have as many issues with paying for it and with him having an iphone in itself, if he would actually use it to call/communicate with his father, but he barely does so. He's also just so irresponsible with it. On top of that, we now have SD11 DEMANDING that she gets an iphone when she turns 12. It is incessant "i want an iphone, i want an iphone" and it is driving me INSANE.
Cell phones can be a great
Cell phones can be a great way to keep track of kids, biological or step. My teen-age son saw that a cell phone was really an electronic leash, so he refused my offer to give him one. Fifteen years later, he'd weep if I threatened to take him off our family plan.* In the case of children who have two homes, step phones can be a great way to defeat some kinds of parental alientation (e.g. your child call call from the other parent's house even if the other parent forbids the use of the land line), you can remind child of homework that must be done if the other party is irresponsible, and if games are being played with exchanges, you can get better info from a child than an ex sometimes. You also don't have to speak to the ex, his/her new partner or other children. They can cause problems, though, if the child is ALWAYS on the phone.
Email can also be a good way to limit vicious contacts between separated spouses because nasty comments are somewhat limited because of fears a judge may be reading the emails some day and wondering if "whore" and "bitch" are epithets in the best interest of the child.
** My family plan covers me, husband, adult son, adult daughter and, this most _____ of all, my brother in law (age 67). I don't know what word to say about the BIL. I offered BIL the phone because my son refused it 15 years ago, and BIL has used it ever since. At least it only cost $11.00 a month and he never uses a roll over minute or the data plan. He never thanks me or even gives my daughter a square deal when working on her house!!! Sometimes I think that a basic problem with in-laws and stepchildren is that we're expected to be intimate with them even though we did not choose them and absent marital tie, would never have chosen them as friends. And that supposed intimacy (and even forced festivities or home sharing) can lead to intense hostility. As with college roommates, you either liked them or hated them, but couldn't be indifferent. With stepchildren, of course, they are particularly daunting as they are dependents, immature, needy, even damaged, and at some point teenagers. Sometimes they act like teenagers for 30 or 40 years.