HELP! SS16 and DH and a car??
Oh what could be better than this? I have a SS16 who won't get a job here because he has one where his BM is (in another state..and without our permission btw). He won't walk a mile or two to look for one but will mention so and so is hiring..and when I take the time to look it up.. "its too far to walk to" so I say "ride a scooter or skateboard" i get "too much effort". lol. So my canned reply is "sorry that you choose to feel that way". We FINALLY got over the hump of hearing "i need a job, i need money" to now.. "too many people, i'm competing against every other teenager" etc etc.. I think I have hear so many excuses that I could literally write a book about it! "How to Not Apply Yourself.. a Teen's perspective on Life!"
We are also doing the driver's permit. Now keep in mind this is a child that lies, steals, shows no remorse and just doesn't seem to care. This is a HUGE point of contention for DH and I. DH is looking for a beater car to purchase (assuming we get a tax refund this year). I keep telling my DH that look. If SS16 wants a car.. let him show it by getting a job to pay for insurance and gas and upkeep. We can't afford the additional insurance (about $400.00 per month) and SS16 refuses to apply himself to pull the grades to get a discount for good grades.
We are struggling every month to pay the bills.. (which keep coming of course) stretching food budgets out and have cut out everything that is not essential! But the SS16 only sees his pity party of I don't have a car... I don't have a job here because I don't need one.. which is followed by I don't have any money (our house is xerascaped.. no lawn mowing to be done.. ergo nothing to do to get an allowance... and he won't clean unless told to.. tried chore charts and the only one that ever did that was BS9!)
So here is the issue: DH is emailing and physically looking at vehicles with the intent to purchase for SS16 (who is his BS.) SS16 keeps taking the paper to DH as SS16 knows that my response is "have you found a job yet?". SS16 was "given" a car by a family member in another state that has to stay there and that has to never be sold must stay in "their" family or return to the person that is allowing the use. We do NOT have SS16 on any auto insurance at all. But DH won't say or do anything because in his mind the BM doesn't care. "What difference does it make? She doesn't care" is what he says. I tell my DH that it matters because he is showing that he is a PARENT!
aarrrggghhh I just want to rip out my hair!!! Has anyone gone through this recently or can you give me some tips? When I got my first car I had to PAY for insurance, my license and fees AND a payment to my parents every month for the car. BUT I had a JOB and pulled GREAT grades! AND that was AGES ago!!!
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Daddy guilt??
IMO. My sd has gone thru 3 vehicles this far and she is 19. She hasn't had to pay for any of them, not good. Daddy wants to help, but I call it guilty daddy syndrome. Ugh!
Advice??? I can't help...but you could use this as a carrot and dangle.......nothing you get is going to be good enough because these teenagers think they deserve so much more than we can give.
Stepwitch
Thank you Disney for portraying a positive image on all stepmothers!!!!
our house
My BS17 still does not have his permit or a car. He has to get the grades to take the classes. I am waiting on grades right now. I was never given a car and I had awesome grades. My parents had 19 kids so getting each of us a car was out of the question. No way and I ever just "giving" any of our kids a car. They have to earn it and pay for the upkeep. Whether the parents can afford it or not, I don't think kids will appreciate a car unless they earn it and pay for it. My BS17 does have a job and it is a pain sometimes for me to drive him to and from since we live out of town but we live in a town of 700 so its not like he can get a job here. My son has stipulations when he gets a car - like he has to pay for gas and insurance, he has to work, get good grades and if he gets anyone pregnant the car is gone, and if he totals the car there is no money for another one.
I saw a car accident a few weeks back and stopped to see if I could help. The young lady was in college, the car was pretty new and she was dressed "expensively". The car was totaled, she was driving too fast and the roads were slick. This young lady made a comment that this was her THIRD accident (2 were roll overs) since she was 17 and she would not have been more that 20 or 21. IMO after the first accident, I would have not bought her another car.