For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for February 26, 2020

they let you have your own bedroom, Michael… that’s something

Dang, he has his own computer?

You and millions of kids all over the world say the same thing. They always want what they think other kids have. What I see in your room are things that are one-time purchases. What you want are things that have monthly payments. Motorcycles have installment payments and quarterly insurance. A new phone means a new line and new account added to the current plan which means larger phone bill. Are YOU up to helping paying for your part of the bill? No. Children think they are entitled to them and that it’s parent’s responsibility to pay for them. Well, Mike, you DO have a phone at home so from their standpoint, you don’t need a phone. Motorcycle, as far as they are concerned, could wait until you get a job and buy one yourself. You are NOT entitled to them. Geez. (folks, this was originally run 30 years ago. I am talking about 30 years ago when most kids don’t have phones – only kids whose parents were well-to-do. My boys did not get their own phones until they were in high school in mid-2000s. This was late 1980s).

Sounds like you’re a spoiled brat Michael. And entitled to boot. How about you earn the money to buy the things you want? I’d let you work and earn that phone but I wouldn’t allow the motorbike until you grew up and left home. No way would I let you have that at your age.

In all my decades of life, fairness was never guaranteed and what I consider fair might be unfair to everyone else.

He could still be splitting the room with Liz, he should think about that. Like him I got my own room fairly early, but my oldest sister got stuck with a roommate, like Liz will soon, until she was in High School.

To quote The Rolling Stones “You can’t always get what you wantBut if you try sometime you find You get what you need” I think what you need Michael is a healthy dose of reality!

All together now: “AWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

IT LOOKS LIKE HE HAS PLENTY OF STUFF.

The spoiled generation!

If all of that is truly nothing to you, Michael, let’s just take it all and donate it to some kids who would really appreciate it!

That because you need to start to grow up, Mikey..CLEAN your room, help your pregnant mother…

Says the boy with a lot of stuff…more stuff than I had at his age

My heart bleeds. First world problems are so frustrating. It is tough to have so much but still not have everything you want. So close, but yet, so far.

I remember feeling like everybody else had something I didn’t and it wasn’t fair. I think Lynn captures the time between childhood and adulthood, where our brains aren’t fully developed and our bodies are racing ahead, perfectly in Mike. Expecting teenagers to have adult thought processes is like expecting 12-week old puppies to be fully housebroken.

It always seemed to me that my brother got all the good stuff and I got crap, but as I’ve grown older, I’ve realized we each got what we asked for. He asked for a computer and a BMX bike, so my folks got him a Commodore 128D and a Mongoose, and I asked for a book and a new radio, so I got the book I wanted and a nice boombox that I still have today.

He does not even get a REAL computer.

I like the “Apple” core on the side of the computer monitor.

\\//_

The “SB” generation. Spoiled and Bored.

Teenagers, the epitome of complacency at its finest. But on the other side of the coin Michael has what a lot of other teenagers have also. So this “new” thing is a must have for whatever reason.

except a messy room!!

Poor, poor baby.

I was about Michael’s age when the Honda 50 fad swept North America. Every Monday morning there was a new crop of kids in bandages.

A couple of weeks ago Michael said he is saving up for a motorcycle. Now he says his parents will not let him have one. However that seems inconsistent where Michael’s father expressed an interest in that, asking what types of motorcycles he has been looking at. Also, if Michael is saving up with his own money, the motorcycle is paid for from his funds, not his parents’.

Wow, and this was even before the Bernie generation were born, who knew!

if you want something bad enough then try earning the money to buy it yourself.

SPOILED BRAT!!!

Kid: Everyone else has their own phone – just ask at work!Dad: (Next evening) I found a few do, however I found that a large group have signed up their kids to clean up the park Saturday, so I signed you up too!

This sure ain’t the Greatest Generation of World War II.

He might get it if he can pay for it. Second line is cheaper, too.

He could be living in Djibouti. That’s a real garden spot. Most people living there have nothing, but an empty bowl.

At least I as more aware at that age. Whew.

“Stuff” (aka material possessions) in some ways parallels the Biblical description of sin, in that it sneaks in your back door incrementally. By the time you realize its presence, you’re drowning in it. My experience has been that left unchecked, you don’t own “stuff”. Stuff owns you. Might as well dump the excess. It won’t benefit you long term. Trust me on that one.

My sister and I shared a hide-a-bed in the living room in our one bedroom apartment. She got a large closet for her personal stuff, and I got the smaller one. We had one bathroom for the 4 of us and our phone had a party line. Kids like Michael don’t have any idea of the way the world works. One of his parents should sit down and have a good heart-to-heart with him. If he fails to shape up, then he really is the brat as presented.

You know – if you get up off of your butt and get a part time job, you might be surprised at what they will let you have.

Couple of days ago, saw a 3 yr.old wailing away on her phone..

other kids except those of the tech industry giants who, in general, don’t allow their kids to have them.

The same teenage ache alright! Parents never buy what is required.

I can’t have anything either! Well, at least if anything means social media.