The question took me completely by surprise!...I was just paying Ale's school and, since it was already 3:00pm, I popped in to say "Hi!" to her...and one of her classmates just shot it: Ar you poor?...No, why?...Alejandra said you were....Oh? well, we may not have money for luxuries but we sure aren't poor...
I guess I need to have a talk with Ale about this....I mean, how did she get this distorted view? we live in a small house in the wealthiest municipality in the country (true, it's not ours, it's a rental, and we share a household, but, still!)...we have a car, we have a nanny...and, while we don't have money to splurge, Ale can't exactly complain of NOT having "stuff"...as a matter of fact, she's the one that gets the most "stuff" at home...
I don't know, maybe kids have been talking about trips and cable and ipods and Xboxes???....I know for a fact that there are 3 kids in her class that have cellphones (?!...why would one give a cell phone to a 6 year old??!!)...and I know most of them have cable...Ale has also been asking whether only parents are allowed to have TV's in their rooms or whether some children have TV's of their own...Again, even if I HAD the money, I doubt it I'd want Ale to have her own "dumb box" in her room...
Are you poor?
February 12th, 2007 at 09:24 pm
February 12th, 2007 at 11:56 pm 1171324588
I personally don't understand the whole "a tv in every room" deal. My sister is nine and has had a tv in her room since she was two. WHY?!?! She also has a cellphone, though she is only supposed to use it when she is out in the neighborhood, if she goes to one of her other friends houses so my parents know where she is. This, especially in times like they are becoming, I ALMOST understand ... especially God forbid something were to happen to her.
I'd ask your daughter if she was happy to have a mother who loved her, a good family, clothes on her back and food in her belly. Some kids aren't even lucky enough to have that. This is something I am praying to be able to teach Julie. Families make us rich, not things.
February 13th, 2007 at 01:52 am 1171331563
I also can't count how many times I was stranded at school in snow storms when I was little. There was no way to contact my parents to tell them that the bus was snowed in and I'll be home later. At the same time the school couldn't handle 300 parents calling all at once.
That's not even to mention the couple of times I would have liked to call to tell my parents that I'm going over a friend's house after soccer practice. Without a cell phone, my parents would show up and at that point, I had to go home with them, because they've already made the trip.
I can't think of a reason why I wouldn't want my child to have the ability to contact me.
February 13th, 2007 at 02:43 am 1171334603
I had a friend whose' 11 year old daughter gets $50 a week for allowance (crazy know) she has a computer in her room (which it is not age regulated) along with a DVD, VCR and T.V I mean come on. And to top it off for X-mas she got a $500 necklace and earring set
I think people use the cell phone for safety reason as a joke I think it is more of a status thing, because as a parent you can give your kid your own phone if you dropping them off at a friend%u2019s or movie
I agree with ale about her feelings, good luck
February 13th, 2007 at 01:27 pm 1171373220
February 13th, 2007 at 02:44 pm 1171377886
The TV in every room, I really don't understand that...I think the most TV's we ever had were 2: one in the family room and one in the room we shared with my sis....but, these were the days before cable and, we had very specific rules about TV shows/times we could watch it...
Anyway, I spoke to Ale and, the reason she thinks we're poor is we don't have money to splurge...I explained to her that 1."stuff" doesn't make you rich...2. Even if we had money, we'd still have to watch what we do with it...
February 15th, 2007 at 06:36 am 1171521394
As for poor, well "everyone" in Rose's class at school has cable or satellite TV, we are the only ones who don't, but we are not poor. We are scraping by, though. Of course, she wears all these Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, and Abercrombie and Fitch clothes so no one accuses her of being poor, but they were all perfect condition hand me downs from her older cousin who used to work at these stores so has a lot of them. They just think she is weird because TV does not rule our lives.
February 17th, 2007 at 05:15 pm 1171732544
At six? You'd have to be kidding me?
Somebody gives their kid a $50 a week allowance??? EYE-KURUMBA!!
I don't even give myself a $50 a MONTH allowance!! Sheesh!
Ale is one lucky girl to have a Mom with a good head on her shoulders!!