Overheard on Facebook

[zolotiyeruki]

Apparently, people were going crazy to get their children something called Hatchimals for Christmas.  Someone posted this article on FB: http://www.scarymommy.com/some-hatchimals-didnt-hatch-on-christmas-and-parents-are-out-for-blood/?utm_source=FB

People were going crazy! Canadians importing them from Germany or buying ones for hundreds of dollars on the ebay market. My daughter mentioned them to me months ago and was sooooo excited. Being older now it freaks me out to see how targeted and effective advertising is.

The facebook garage sale sites had several postings, one of them had hundreds of comments from people bitching about how greedy people were making a profit on them. I guess the manufacturers and retailers are exempt from scorn for their profits.
 
It provided a great lesson on supply and demand for everyone involved though! Pay a high price or don't get one. The free market ensures there will always be adequate supply (see Uber surge pricing).

If only there was a way to short sell toys...

[Toffeemama]

Apparently, people were going crazy to get their children something called Hatchimals for Christmas.  Someone posted this article on FB: http://www.scarymommy.com/some-hatchimals-didnt-hatch-on-christmas-and-parents-are-out-for-blood/?utm_source=FB

People were going crazy! Canadians importing them from Germany or buying ones for hundreds of dollars on the ebay market. My daughter mentioned them to me months ago and was sooooo excited. Being older now it freaks me out to see how targeted and effective advertising is.

That's one small(but wonderful) thing about home schooling: My kids aren't nearly as exposed to the latest fad as other kids.  They'd still heard of Hatchimals, and thought they were neat, but they hadn't been marinating in the "gotta buy it!" broth that everyone else seemed to have. 

[Taran Wanderer]

Due to mandatory military service, Norway has very good statistics for the height and weight of 18 year old men. The height data goes back to 1878, but comparable weight data only goes to 1995. Still, it is a very clear development, with a relatively steep increase in BMI from 2001 to 2010. In this article, the researches have accessed similar data sets from the 1980s that show an increase in BMI the last 30-40 years. https://www.ssb.no/helse/artikler-og-publikasjoner/vernepliktige-opp-i-vekt

After reading that (in English), I just have to say that Google Translate is amazingly awesome.

[Playing with Fire UK]

It provided a great lesson on supply and demand for everyone involved though! Pay a high price or don't get one. The free market ensures there will always be adequate supply (see Uber surge pricing).

If only there was a way to short sell toys...

Give holiday presents in February?

[Drifterrider]

Guy that graduated a couple years ago (engineering) has three cars. A brand spanking new Camaro, an older Miata he uses for racing, and a V8 Pontiac Bonneville. He constantly posts pictures of them, like before and after wash pictures. I'm pretty sure he's still entry level or maybe slightly above.

Several others have two cars. Like a jeep and a truck, a jeep and a new Lexus, a van and a new Camaro (this one graduated just a few months ago and also bought a house shortly after graduation), just to give a few examples. Half of them are single, other have are dating (not married). None of them have kids. These cars do not include the girlfriends' cars either.

You'd judge the shit outta me, then. I haven't had just one car since 2005.  :)

I have two cars and three motorcycles.  Must be a special place in hell for me :)

[marielle]

Guy that graduated a couple years ago (engineering) has three cars. A brand spanking new Camaro, an older Miata he uses for racing, and a V8 Pontiac Bonneville. He constantly posts pictures of them, like before and after wash pictures. I'm pretty sure he's still entry level or maybe slightly above.

Several others have two cars. Like a jeep and a truck, a jeep and a new Lexus, a van and a new Camaro (this one graduated just a few months ago and also bought a house shortly after graduation), just to give a few examples. Half of them are single, other have are dating (not married). None of them have kids. These cars do not include the girlfriends' cars either.

You'd judge the shit outta me, then. I haven't had just one car since 2005.  :)

I have two cars and three motorcycles.  Must be a special place in hell for me :)

But you guys probably don't have student loans and actually have some savings, right?

[onehair]

I finally have one after simply lurking and reading.  A high school friend of mine works at a Sprint as a manager.  According to him a 9 year old is brought in by her parents so they can buy her an Iphone 7.  Yes an Iphone 7.  The child is unhappy because she wanted one in black and the store didn't have that color.  Said child throws a most awesome temper tantrum.  Yelling screaming the whole nine yards.  The manager gives her a look just as she was about to pull down a display that implied if she did he would cause her bodily harm.  And what do the parents do?  Try to console her with the remark they can always exchange it for another color later on.  WTF?
I priced the phone out of nosiness and saw the cheapest model is $649.  WTF does a 9 year old need with that expensive a phone??

[Playing with Fire UK]

I finally have one after simply lurking and reading.  A high school friend of mine works at a Sprint as a manager.  According to him a 9 year old is brought in by her parents so they can buy her an Iphone 7.  Yes an Iphone 7.  The child is unhappy because she wanted one in black and the store didn't have that color.  Said child throws a most awesome temper tantrum.  Yelling screaming the whole nine yards.  The manager gives her a look just as she was about to pull down a display that implied if she did he would cause her bodily harm.  And what do the parents do?  Try to console her with the remark they can always exchange it for another color later on.  WTF?
I priced the phone out of nosiness and saw the cheapest model is $649.  WTF does a 9 year old need with that expensive a phone??

To call someone after she is robbed for her phone.

[ketchup]

I finally have one after simply lurking and reading.  A high school friend of mine works at a Sprint as a manager.  According to him a 9 year old is brought in by her parents so they can buy her an Iphone 7.  Yes an Iphone 7.  The child is unhappy because she wanted one in black and the store didn't have that color.  Said child throws a most awesome temper tantrum.  Yelling screaming the whole nine yards.  The manager gives her a look just as she was about to pull down a display that implied if she did he would cause her bodily harm.  And what do the parents do?  Try to console her with the remark they can always exchange it for another color later on.  WTF?
I priced the phone out of nosiness and saw the cheapest model is $649.  WTF does a 9 year old need with that expensive a phone??

That screwed up kid will grow up to be a screwed up adult.  Shit.

[mm1970]

I finally have one after simply lurking and reading.  A high school friend of mine works at a Sprint as a manager.  According to him a 9 year old is brought in by her parents so they can buy her an Iphone 7.  Yes an Iphone 7.  The child is unhappy because she wanted one in black and the store didn't have that color.  Said child throws a most awesome temper tantrum.  Yelling screaming the whole nine yards.  The manager gives her a look just as she was about to pull down a display that implied if she did he would cause her bodily harm.  And what do the parents do?  Try to console her with the remark they can always exchange it for another color later on.  WTF?
I priced the phone out of nosiness and saw the cheapest model is $649.  WTF does a 9 year old need with that expensive a phone??

my ten year old niece got an Iphone 7 this year.

[JetBlast]

I finally have one after simply lurking and reading.  A high school friend of mine works at a Sprint as a manager.  According to him a 9 year old is brought in by her parents so they can buy her an Iphone 7.  Yes an Iphone 7.  The child is unhappy because she wanted one in black and the store didn't have that color.  Said child throws a most awesome temper tantrum.  Yelling screaming the whole nine yards.  The manager gives her a look just as she was about to pull down a display that implied if she did he would cause her bodily harm.  And what do the parents do?  Try to console her with the remark they can always exchange it for another color later on.  WTF?
I priced the phone out of nosiness and saw the cheapest model is $649.  WTF does a 9 year old need with that expensive a phone??

Heard a good one from someone that works at the local Apple store.  Apparently a couple weeks ago he had a customer come in and buy each of his twin children a top of the line, 12.9 inch display iPad Pro.  $1,129 per iPad. The twins were three years old.  Why???

[firelight]

I'm not sure why a kid needs a smartphone. Most kids are around safe adults (teachers at school, parents at home, teachers/coaches at sports/other activities) and can always ask the adult to look up something online or call parents if needed. Why do they need a phone? Even kids that travel alone (maybe a teen that takes a public train or bus) at best needs a dumb phone. Why do they need a smartphone? And tablets are even worse.

To add, almost all kids I know have laptops or Chromebooks for school work. So I'm not sure why a smartphone is needed. I'm genuinely curious

[LeRainDrop]

My mom is a nanny for siblings who are 3 and 5 years old.  She reported that both of them received iPads for Christmas.  The 5-year-old also demands both of his parents' phones when they get home so that he can play with those, too.  Today the 5-year-old tried to change the parental pass code on his iPad and the mom received an email alert about the attempt.  The parents just laugh about it.  At the same time, they're like, "I don't want my kids to grow up spoiled like so-and-so's kids."  Hrmmm.

[Kitsune]

... because you really want to hand a 700$ delicate electronic device to someone who can't be relied upon to take care of it, not lose it (based on mittens and gloves going missing anyway), or afford to replace it. And then it has a monthly fee. Mmmhmmmmmmm. NOPE.

I'll let my kid watch (limited quantities) Netflix on my phone, or scroll through my instagram for family pictures, or play the (single) kids game on my iPad. For max 20 Minutes a day, and not every day. But you can have a smartphone when you can afford it and care for it.

[Dave1442397]

I'm not sure why a smartphone is needed. I'm genuinely curious

We got my eleven-year-old daughter a smartphone earlier this year. It's the cheapest MotoG phone that works with Republic Wireless, and we have her on the $10/month plan, which is voice/text with no data (except when in wifi range).

We like it because she tends to bounce around the neighborhood with her friends, so we'll get texts such as "at the park", "going to Ellie's house", "going to eat pizza with Hayley" etc. It's also an easy way for us to get in touch with her if we need her back at the house for some reason, or just to let her know what we're doing.

A lot of her friends got iPhones, and at first she really wanted one too. I sat down with her and explained planned obsolescence and cost of ownership, and also that while an iPhone has a nice user interface, her phone will do everything she needs it to. Not long afterwards, I had to tell her how to explain it to her friends, because she was basically telling them they were idiots for wasting all that money on an iPhone :)

[mustachepungoeshere]

Can't remember if I've posted this before, but one of my issues about kids who have their own devices or unlimited access to their parents' devices is their sense of entitlement around other adults' phones.

My friends' kids ask for my phone as soon as I walk in the door. "Can we look at photos on your phone???"

This is, most often, from a three-year-old and six-year-old.

Their parents think it's cute. I don't.

I keep a G-rated phone, so that's not the issue. It's just that it would bore them senseless! They look at their parents' phones to see pics of themselves.

My photos are my family, friends, and screencaps of news stories and ideas for work. Wow. So entertaining for a toddler.

But they think I'm mean and their parents seem to think I have nude selfies if I say no.

ಠ_ಠ

[Playing with Fire UK]

Can't remember if I've posted this before, but one of my issues about kids who have their own devices or unlimited access to their parents' devices is their sense of entitlement around other adults' phones.

My friends' kids ask for my phone as soon as I walk in the door. "Can we look at photos on your phone???"

This is, most often, from a three-year-old and six-year-old.
...
But they think I'm mean and their parents seem to think I have nude selfies if I say no.

ಠ_ಠ

I would teach the children some new words when explaining why they can't look at my phone. Let's see how cute the parents think that is.

That is incredibly rude.

[Gin1984]

Can't remember if I've posted this before, but one of my issues about kids who have their own devices or unlimited access to their parents' devices is their sense of entitlement around other adults' phones.

My friends' kids ask for my phone as soon as I walk in the door. "Can we look at photos on your phone???"

This is, most often, from a three-year-old and six-year-old.

Their parents think it's cute. I don't.

I keep a G-rated phone, so that's not the issue. It's just that it would bore them senseless! They look at their parents' phones to see pics of themselves.

My photos are my family, friends, and screencaps of news stories and ideas for work. Wow. So entertaining for a toddler.

But they think I'm mean and their parents seem to think I have nude selfies if I say no.

ಠ_ಠ

That's odd....My daughter loves to look at picture so often she will borrow my phone, or my husband's to look at them (side note, my wedding album is in her room because she is the only one that looks at it) but she NEVER asked anyone else for their phone.  Nor would I be pleased if she did.  Phones, like computers are personal.  I can't imagine being bothered by a person not wanting to hand over a cell phone to a three year old.

[cheapass]

My friends' kids ask for my phone as soon as I walk in the door. "Can we look at photos on your phone???"

This is, most often, from a three-year-old and six-year-old.

Their parents think it's cute. I don't.

At least they ask. My nephew, when he was about 6, would just come up to my wife and I and start digging in our pockets  or purse looking for our phones. No understanding that this was unacceptable behavior. One time he accidentally bumped into my concealed handgun on my hip and said "what's that?" Awkward conversation ensued.

When we would stay the night at their house, the kids would come into our room whenever they woke up in the morning and jump on our bed. Also extremely rude behavior. I used to joke that for Christmas I was going to buy their parents a locking doorknob for their guest room.

[onehair]

I can see nowadays getting a child a basic phone or a basic smartphone since some are so cheap if needed considering so many families are so busy these days plus making sure kids check in so the parents don't worry.  But my main concern was a 9 year old throwing a tantrum.  Most of us were disciplined (sometimes painfully)not to do that after the age of what? 2-4?  What will she do when the real world steps in?

[cheapass]

But my main concern was a 9 year old throwing a tantrum.  Most of us were disciplined (sometimes painfully)not to do that after the age of what? 2-4?  What will she do when the real world steps in?

I had a boss that would throw tantrums. Most of us are taught as children to control our emotions, and not to let them control us. Some people miss that lesson in childhood.

[ketchup]

A lot of her friends got iPhones, and at first she really wanted one too. I sat down with her and explained planned obsolescence and cost of ownership, and also that while an iPhone has a nice user interface, her phone will do everything she needs it to. Not long afterwards, I had to tell her how to explain it to her friends, because she was basically telling them they were idiots for wasting all that money on an iPhone :)

That's a fun game my GF and I play with things like this.  "This is why we're actually doing this, but this is how to explain it without seeming like an a-hole."

[Playing with Fire UK]

A lot of her friends got iPhones, and at first she really wanted one too. I sat down with her and explained planned obsolescence and cost of ownership, and also that while an iPhone has a nice user interface, her phone will do everything she needs it to. Not long afterwards, I had to tell her how to explain it to her friends, because she was basically telling them they were idiots for wasting all that money on an iPhone :)

That's a fun game my GF and I play with things like this.  "This is why we're actually doing this, but this is how to explain it without seeming like an a-hole."

I could use some of those lessons as an adult. I generally go for one polite but slightly evasive answer followed by the unembellished truth.

[MgoSam]

My friends' kids ask for my phone as soon as I walk in the door. "Can we look at photos on your phone???"

This is, most often, from a three-year-old and six-year-old.

Their parents think it's cute. I don't.

At least they ask. My nephew, when he was about 6, would just come up to my wife and I and start digging in our pockets  or purse looking for our phones. No understanding that this was unacceptable behavior. One time he accidentally bumped into my concealed handgun on my hip and said "what's that?" Awkward conversation ensued.

When we would stay the night at their house, the kids would come into our room whenever they woke up in the morning and jump on our bed. Also extremely rude behavior. I used to joke that for Christmas I was going to buy their parents a locking doorknob for their guest room.

Insanely rude! I'm very glad my nieces and nephews don't do that or else their parents would be explaining a lot of awkward things to them (work products that I wholesale). Their parents are likely better at explaining it to them as I have less of a filter.

[bebegirl]

The situation with spoiled kids is pretty widespread.

I am a member of parents facebook groups and see there constantly the same question from parents asking for an advice:

"What to give as a present to 5 years old girl who has everything?"
"What to give as a present for 3 year old boy who has everything?"

I am 39 years old and do not consider that I have everything. I still put some goals in front of me and am interested in what will happen next.

What these spoiled children will be excited about when they grow up?

Ridiculous.

[Travis]

The situation with spoiled kids is pretty widespread.

I am a member of parents facebook groups and see there constantly the same question from parents asking for an advice:

"What to give as a present to 5 years old girl who has everything?"
"What to give as a present for 3 year old boy who has everything?"

I am 39 years old and do not consider that I have everything. I still put some goals in front of me and am interested in what will happen next.

What these spoiled children will be excited about when they grow up?

Ridiculous.

I was so thankful that a couple of my best friends flat out told me not to get their kids anything for Christmas because they were more than covered. It saved me some money and they recognized where to simply draw a line.

[Kitsune]

The situation with spoiled kids is pretty widespread.

I am a member of parents facebook groups and see there constantly the same question from parents asking for an advice:

"What to give as a present to 5 years old girl who has everything?"
"What to give as a present for 3 year old boy who has everything?"

I am 39 years old and do not consider that I have everything. I still put some goals in front of me and am interested in what will happen next.

What these spoiled children will be excited about when they grow up?

Ridiculous.

Well, to be fair, I'd qualify my child as a child who has "everything". By which I mean: she has healthy food, pretty and comfortable and seasonally-appropriate clothes, aND enough open-ended imaginative games (doll, play kitchen, wood train, wood blocks, mostly - and we just made her a dollhouse she seems to love) that her time is occupied and she doesn't need more toys, nor do I want more toys as clutter.

She has everything she needs, and doesn't need anything, so... yeah, what DO you get a kid like that?

(And if the answer is anything resembling a tablet for a toddler, or any branded toys that make noise and clutter, the second answer is NO. None of that.)

[firelight]

The situation with spoiled kids is pretty widespread.

I am a member of parents facebook groups and see there constantly the same question from parents asking for an advice:

"What to give as a present to 5 years old girl who has everything?"
"What to give as a present for 3 year old boy who has everything?"

I am 39 years old and do not consider that I have everything. I still put some goals in front of me and am interested in what will happen next.

What these spoiled children will be excited about when they grow up?

Ridiculous.

Well, to be fair, I'd qualify my child as a child who has "everything". By which I mean: she has healthy food, pretty and comfortable and seasonally-appropriate clothes, aND enough open-ended imaginative games (doll, play kitchen, wood train, wood blocks, mostly - and we just made her a dollhouse she seems to love) that her time is occupied and she doesn't need more toys, nor do I want more toys as clutter.

She has everything she needs, and doesn't need anything, so... yeah, what DO you get a kid like that?

(And if the answer is anything resembling a tablet for a toddler, or any branded toys that make noise and clutter, the second answer is NO. None of that.)

Well, how about some money into the kid's 529? Or even stocks in her favorite companies with a decorative piece of paper (Disney, McDs, etc) would be a fun and different gift. Also, there is no reason to give a kid a gift just because. There is no harm in skipping gifts if the parents think the kid has everything (though consumables like paint, chalks, paper, etc are always useful)

[Kitsune]

The situation with spoiled kids is pretty widespread.

I am a member of parents facebook groups and see there constantly the same question from parents asking for an advice:

"What to give as a present to 5 years old girl who has everything?"
"What to give as a present for 3 year old boy who has everything?"

I am 39 years old and do not consider that I have everything. I still put some goals in front of me and am interested in what will happen next.

What these spoiled children will be excited about when they grow up?

Ridiculous.

Well, to be fair, I'd qualify my child as a child who has "everything". By which I mean: she has healthy food, pretty and comfortable and seasonally-appropriate clothes, aND enough open-ended imaginative games (doll, play kitchen, wood train, wood blocks, mostly - and we just made her a dollhouse she seems to love) that her time is occupied and she doesn't need more toys, nor do I want more toys as clutter.

She has everything she needs, and doesn't need anything, so... yeah, what DO you get a kid like that?

(And if the answer is anything resembling a tablet for a toddler, or any branded toys that make noise and clutter, the second answer is NO. None of that.)

Well, how about some money into the kid's 529? Or even stocks in her favorite companies with a decorative piece of paper (Disney, McDs, etc) would be a fun and different gift. Also, there is no reason to give a kid a gift just because. There is no harm in skipping gifts if the parents think the kid has everything (though consumables like paint, chalks, paper, etc are always useful)

Yes!! All those things would be welcome gifts! And also the recognition that not all gifts are necessary at all occasions and that a kid who is well-loved and materially comfortable likely does not need 50 toys per holiday.

Or at least, the parents don't need to clean that up...

[mm1970]

I'm not sure why a kid needs a smartphone. Most kids are around safe adults (teachers at school, parents at home, teachers/coaches at sports/other activities) and can always ask the adult to look up something online or call parents if needed. Why do they need a phone? Even kids that travel alone (maybe a teen that takes a public train or bus) at best needs a dumb phone. Why do they need a smartphone? And tablets are even worse.

To add, almost all kids I know have laptops or Chromebooks for school work. So I'm not sure why a smartphone is needed. I'm genuinely curious

It's not.  A dumb phone is fine if you are running around town and need to text your parents.  But smart phones are "fun" I suppose, if you want to play Pokemon go.

I'm guessing that many kids just have their parents' old phones.

[Dollar Slice]

Can't remember if I've posted this before, but one of my issues about kids who have their own devices or unlimited access to their parents' devices is their sense of entitlement around other adults' phones.

Ugh, yes. At Thanksgiving I was at my brother's house, and I had my phone out a lot because a close friend of mine was in the hospital and I was waiting for news from her husband. I put it on the table in front of me and my nephew (8 years old) just grabbed it and started trying to unlock it, but since it's not an iPhone like his parents have, he didn't know how. He asked me how to unlock it and I said "Hon, I actually don't want you to play with that, it's not a toy. I don't have any games or movies on it for you." And he didn't even look at me, much less put it down, and repeated that he wanted me to tell him how to unlock it while frantically poking at it every which way. Grr.

Still not as bad as the parents I saw on the subway the other day who were letting their infant play with a new iPhone. Barely at the "ooh, pretty flashing colors" stage of smartphone fascination. They kept having to grab it and say "NO!" when she would try to throw it or drop it off the side of the stroller.

[C-note]

A bit of a threadjack - -

As a school district administrator responsible for students with learning differences, we're seeing a lot of kids start kindergarten (5-6 years old) without the necessary language skills.

For example, if you tell them "The ball is under the chair.", they don't know the meaning of under so they can't find the ball.  Positional words seem to be a common deficit.  No research - just a hunch - but the special educators, speech paths, and other educational professionals believe the lack of language is due to the surge in the use of tech devices by babies and toddlers.  They're not getting exposed to language when they're staring at a device.  Studies are underway on how technology affects a child's neuro-connections.  I'm not sure how much press the findings will get outside of the typical "Limit your child's screen time" sound bite on the evening news.   

I cringe when I see a baby or toddler being entertained with a tech device instead of the parent(s) talking and interacting with their child as they make their way through the grocery store or Target or wherever.  Please, parents, talk to your kid!   

[VladTheImpaler]

A bit of a threadjack - -

As a school district administrator responsible for students with learning differences, we're seeing a lot of kids start kindergarten (5-6 years old) without the necessary language skills.

For example, if you tell them "The ball is under the chair.", they don't know the meaning of under so they can't find the ball.  Positional words seem to be a common deficit.  No research - just a hunch - but the special educators, speech paths, and other educational professionals believe the lack of language is due to the surge in use of tech devices by babies and toddlers.  They're not getting exposed to language when they're staring at a device.  Studies are underway on how technology affects a child's neuro-connections.  I'm not sure how much press the findings will get outside of the typical "Limit your child's screen time" sound bite on the evening news.   

I cringe when I see a baby or toddler being entertained with a tech device instead of the parent(s) talking and interacting with their child as they make their way through the grocery store or Target or wherever.  Please, parents, talk to your kid!

That's sad.
Lots of studies have been done on the positive impact that interacting and speaking to your newborn and toddler can have.
Empirical evidence shows that higher achieving students (k-12) had parents (caretakers) that spoke directly to them and OFTEN and read to them often from birth to 5 years old.

[gaja]

A bit of a threadjack - -

As a school district administrator responsible for students with learning differences, we're seeing a lot of kids start kindergarten (5-6 years old) without the necessary language skills.

For example, if you tell them "The ball is under the chair.", they don't know the meaning of under so they can't find the ball.  Positional words seem to be a common deficit.  No research - just a hunch - but the special educators, speech paths, and other educational professionals believe the lack of language is due to the surge in use of tech devices by babies and toddlers.  They're not getting exposed to language when they're staring at a device.  Studies are underway on how technology affects a child's neuro-connections.  I'm not sure how much press the findings will get outside of the typical "Limit your child's screen time" sound bite on the evening news.   

I cringe when I see a baby or toddler being entertained with a tech device instead of the parent(s) talking and interacting with their child as they make their way through the grocery store or Target or wherever.  Please, parents, talk to your kid!

Children with normal hearing will learn to speak, as long as they can hear someone speaking. It is not necessary to speak directly to the kids for them to pick up the basics. The major difference in vocabulary is between the kids who have been exposed to books and those who haven't. Of course, interacting with the child is important on so many other levels, but a hearing child of deaf parents can learn spoken languages perfectly, even if they don't get exposed to them from the parents. And their (sign) language development will often start earlier and be just as strong as hearing children of hearing parents. It is the deaf children of hearing parents who are in trouble.

English is the first language of these children? Unless all those kids are native Finnish or Hungarian speakers, it is probably off topic, but I just find it incredible fascinating how our languages influence us. I'm afraid I've only found this article in Swedish, but if you try google translate it should be possible to understand. It describes how the difference between the languages that use prepositions, and the languages that use grammatical case instead, also influence how the language users view the world, and how they would react to being told there is a ball under a chair: https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2016/11/27/den-hapnadsvackande-forklaringen-till-att-inga-norrman-vill-till-finland

[Tjat]

Well, to be fair, I'd qualify my child as a child who has "everything". By which I mean: she has healthy food, pretty and comfortable and seasonally-appropriate clothes, aND enough open-ended imaginative games (doll, play kitchen, wood train, wood blocks, mostly - and we just made her a dollhouse she seems to love) that her time is occupied and she doesn't need more toys, nor do I want more toys as clutter.

She has everything she needs, and doesn't need anything, so... yeah, what DO you get a kid like that?

(And if the answer is anything resembling a tablet for a toddler, or any branded toys that make noise and clutter, the second answer is NO. None of that.)

+1. Meanwhile, my daughter received a 4 foot VTech plastic abomination (aka princess castle) from a well meaning aunt... there is no f'n volume control

I can't stand it that people who buy presents don't clear it with the parents, if not to at least ensure it's not a duplicate. It's getting to the point where I can't even buy presents for my own kid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kitsune]

Well, to be fair, I'd qualify my child as a child who has "everything". By which I mean: she has healthy food, pretty and comfortable and seasonally-appropriate clothes, aND enough open-ended imaginative games (doll, play kitchen, wood train, wood blocks, mostly - and we just made her a dollhouse she seems to love) that her time is occupied and she doesn't need more toys, nor do I want more toys as clutter.

She has everything she needs, and doesn't need anything, so... yeah, what DO you get a kid like that?

(And if the answer is anything resembling a tablet for a toddler, or any branded toys that make noise and clutter, the second answer is NO. None of that.)

+1. Meanwhile, my daughter received a 4 foot VTech plastic abomination (aka princess castle) from a well meaning aunt... there is no f'n volume control

I can't stand it that people who buy presents don't clear it with the parents, if not to at least ensure it's not a duplicate. It's getting to the point where I can't even buy presents for my own kid.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh god. Huge space-taking presents that make noise and have no volume control. Parental nightmare... like at least check that there's storage space first, for crying out loud!!

[kayvent]

I'm not sure why a kid needs a smartphone. Most kids are around safe adults (teachers at school, parents at home, teachers/coaches at sports/other activities) and can always ask the adult to look up something online or call parents if needed. Why do they need a phone? Even kids that travel alone (maybe a teen that takes a public train or bus) at best needs a dumb phone. Why do they need a smartphone? And tablets are even worse.

To add, almost all kids I know have laptops or Chromebooks for school work. So I'm not sure why a smartphone is needed. I'm genuinely curious

Perhaps this is a generational divide but I have to be on the dissent. A modern smartphone is far more useful to a young individual than a laptop or Chromebook.

You can use it as a GPS, to text, to call, to read books, to read online blogs, to send & receive e-mail, social media, write essay or do school reports, work on math worth, play games, do research for a school paper, record a receipt (ex. for budgeting), and much more. All that, in your pocket. I'd rather my child have a portable phone than a 'useless brick' laptop that has much less utility.

[firelight]

One advantage of living in a condominium is that we don't have space for such toys. People are more hesitant to buy large sized toys and even if they do, we donate/sell/return it without any guilt. Also cuts way down on marital conflict (your sister gave this gift and you want kid to have it? Sorry honey! It's not me throwing it out because it came from her, it's the house, we don't have any space remember?)

[Kitsune]

I'm not sure why a kid needs a smartphone. Most kids are around safe adults (teachers at school, parents at home, teachers/coaches at sports/other activities) and can always ask the adult to look up something online or call parents if needed. Why do they need a phone? Even kids that travel alone (maybe a teen that takes a public train or bus) at best needs a dumb phone. Why do they need a smartphone? And tablets are even worse.

To add, almost all kids I know have laptops or Chromebooks for school work. So I'm not sure why a smartphone is needed. I'm genuinely curious

Perhaps this is a generational divide but I have to be on the dissent. A modern smartphone is far more useful to a young individual than a laptop or Chromebook.

You can use it as a GPS, to text, to call, to read books, to read online blogs, to send & receive e-mail, social media, write essay or do school reports, work on math worth, play games, do research for a school paper, record a receipt (ex. for budgeting), and much more. All that, in your pocket. I'd rather my child have a portable phone than a 'useless brick' laptop that has much less utility.

For a, say, 12-year-old: absolutely. Right there with you. For a 5-7-year-old... eeeeenh.

At the very least, I'd like my kid to be old enough and have enough acquired media sensitivity to be able to avoid active influence by ads, budget reasonably, read books that aren't mostly images (that don't translate well to phone screens), etc.

And, frankly, if my kid is gonna find porn on the internet, I'd like it to be because they're old enough to go looking for it, not young enough to be horrified by it.

[With This Herring]

*snip*
For example, if you tell them "The ball is under the chair.", they don't know the meaning of under so they can't find the ball.  Positional words seem to be a common deficit.
*snip*

*snip*
English is the first language of these children? Unless all those kids are native Finnish or Hungarian speakers, it is probably off topic, but I just find it incredible fascinating how our languages influence us. I'm afraid I've only found this article in Swedish, but if you try google translate it should be possible to understand. It describes how the difference between the languages that use prepositions, and the languages that use grammatical case instead, also influence how the language users view the world, and how they would react to being told there is a ball under a chair: https://svenska.yle.fi/artikel/2016/11/27/den-hapnadsvackande-forklaringen-till-att-inga-norrman-vill-till-finland

I just tried to read this article via Google Translate.  It worked to some degree to get most of the Swedish of the bulk of the page translated, but it helped to have a second tab of Google Translate open to translate the Finnish words, which Google left in Finnish in the article.

The article was fascinating, though I do not understand very much of it.

[Playing with Fire UK]

+1. Meanwhile, my daughter received a 4 foot VTech plastic abomination (aka princess castle) from a well meaning aunt... there is no f'n volume control

I can't stand it that people who buy presents don't clear it with the parents, if not to at least ensure it's not a duplicate. It's getting to the point where I can't even buy presents for my own kid.

Can you put tape over the speakers until it is a reasonable volume?

Or would that be a waste when it is on it's way out the door?

[Tjat]

+1. Meanwhile, my daughter received a 4 foot VTech plastic abomination (aka princess castle) from a well meaning aunt... there is no f'n volume control

I can't stand it that people who buy presents don't clear it with the parents, if not to at least ensure it's not a duplicate. It's getting to the point where I can't even buy presents for my own kid.

Can you put tape over the speakers until it is a reasonable volume?

Or would that be a waste when it is on it's way out the door?

Hmm, I was too irritated at the thing to even consider that. I'm currently negotiating to donate it, but if I fail (because I'm told the gift giver will be upset and offended if we donate) I'll be sure to do that!

On a related note, why does the gift giver deserve to be offended if her gift is donated? If anything, I'd be mortified and apologetic if I gave someone such a gargantuan and unwanted item.

If the consensus is being offended is okay, what is the gift threshold before this becomes not okay? For instance, if I framed a used tissue and gave it to someone in the name of art, would that person be pressured to keep it under the same premise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Megma]

+1. Meanwhile, my daughter received a 4 foot VTech plastic abomination (aka princess castle) from a well meaning aunt... there is no f'n volume control

I can't stand it that people who buy presents don't clear it with the parents, if not to at least ensure it's not a duplicate. It's getting to the point where I can't even buy presents for my own kid.

Can you put tape over the speakers until it is a reasonable volume?

Or would that be a waste when it is on it's way out the door?

Hmm, I was too irritated at the thing to even consider that. I'm currently negotiating to donate it, but if I fail (because I'm told the gift giver will be upset and offended if we donate) I'll be sure to do that!

On a related note, why does the gift giver deserve to be offended if her gift is donated? If anything, I'd be mortified and apologetic if I gave someone such a gargantuan and unwanted item.

If the consensus is being offended is okay, what is the gift threshold before this becomes not okay? For instance, if I framed a used tissue and gave it to someone in the name of art, would that person be pressured to keep it under the same premise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Will she realistically know you got rid of it right away? Is she at your house regularly enough that she'd notice a toy was gone?

Honestly, I'd never notice if something i gave my nephew had been donated. I live too far away and he has too much crap. Granted i got him one small lego set for xmas which is now mixed in with his others.

Even if she does notice the toy could be "at grandma's" right now.

[Kitsune]

+1. Meanwhile, my daughter received a 4 foot VTech plastic abomination (aka princess castle) from a well meaning aunt... there is no f'n volume control

I can't stand it that people who buy presents don't clear it with the parents, if not to at least ensure it's not a duplicate. It's getting to the point where I can't even buy presents for my own kid.

Can you put tape over the speakers until it is a reasonable volume?

Or would that be a waste when it is on it's way out the door?

Hmm, I was too irritated at the thing to even consider that. I'm currently negotiating to donate it, but if I fail (because I'm told the gift giver will be upset and offended if we donate) I'll be sure to do that!

On a related note, why does the gift giver deserve to be offended if her gift is donated? If anything, I'd be mortified and apologetic if I gave someone such a gargantuan and unwanted item.

If the consensus is being offended is okay, what is the gift threshold before this becomes not okay? For instance, if I framed a used tissue and gave it to someone in the name of art, would that person be pressured to keep it under the same premise?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If it helps at all - someone donating a gift I give would upset me in the sense that it would indicate that I had chosen wrongly, given something they didn't like, made a social misstep, or something like that. It's basically a highlight of a bad choice that demonstrates a lack of knowledge of the person I'd be trying to please, and that's embarassing/awkward, and I'd feel bad.

THAT said. Feeling bad after missteping is normal and natural, and happens, and dealing with it is something most people should learn as toddlers and preschoolers (right up there with "sometimes you are not invited to a thing other people are going to" and "feeling bad when you hurt someone is ok. Now go apologize and make it better." Basic life lessons, yo.) Outsourcing your emotional care to others is bullshit. I, personally,  might feel bad about choosing a "wrong" gift, but that's a sign to do better/different next time, not that they're responsible for coddling my emotions and pretending I did good.

Does that make sense?

(That said. If an adult has not yet learned their own emotional coping mechanisms, and are outsourcing the coddling of emotions to the point where it's a socially expected thing to do, there will be social consequences for not falling in line with the family expectations. It's bullshit, and not right, but you'll have to deal with them anyway. Sorry.)

[Playing with Fire UK]

+1. Meanwhile, my daughter received a 4 foot VTech plastic abomination (aka princess castle) from a well meaning aunt... there is no f'n volume control

I can't stand it that people who buy presents don't clear it with the parents, if not to at least ensure it's not a duplicate. It's getting to the point where I can't even buy presents for my own kid.

Can you put tape over the speakers until it is a reasonable volume?

Or would that be a waste when it is on it's way out the door?

Hmm, I was too irritated at the thing to even consider that. I'm currently negotiating to donate it, but if I fail (because I'm told the gift giver will be upset and offended if we donate) I'll be sure to do that!

On a related note, why does the gift giver deserve to be offended if her gift is donated? If anything, I'd be mortified and apologetic if I gave someone such a gargantuan and unwanted item.

If the consensus is being offended is okay, what is the gift threshold before this becomes not okay? For instance, if I framed a used tissue and gave it to someone in the name of art, would that person be pressured to keep it under the same premise?

No freakin clue on what others consider acceptable. I would prefer that someone told me it was unsuitable and asked me if I preferred to return it or have it donated.

Like, if a friend asks for $10, I'll give it to them, but if they then shred it because they wanted to listen to the sound I'd be annoyed. I'd understand philosophically that I'd given a gift and they are free to do what they want with it, but I'd feel bad about it.

[StiffUpperLip]

Yup. Despite talking on many recent occasions to family about us trying to declutter our house, Christmas rolls round and what do the grandparents give our 4 yr old? A 4 foot tall remote control crane!!!

We thought we had it covered as he's become very interested in gardening of late so when asked I suggested some tools... So they did get the kid a watering can, trowel and gloves... Why oh why the crane aswell?

(#ungrateful)

[Psychstache]

A bit of a threadjack - -

As a school district administrator responsible for students with learning differences, we're seeing a lot of kids start kindergarten (5-6 years old) without the necessary language skills.

For example, if you tell them "The ball is under the chair.", they don't know the meaning of under so they can't find the ball.  Positional words seem to be a common deficit.  No research - just a hunch - but the special educators, speech paths, and other educational professionals believe the lack of language is due to the surge in the use of tech devices by babies and toddlers.  They're not getting exposed to language when they're staring at a device.  Studies are underway on how technology affects a child's neuro-connections.  I'm not sure how much press the findings will get outside of the typical "Limit your child's screen time" sound bite on the evening news.   

I cringe when I see a baby or toddler being entertained with a tech device instead of the parent(s) talking and interacting with their child as they make their way through the grocery store or Target or wherever.  Please, parents, talk to your kid!

There is an awesome book on this subject that you may enjoy called '30 million words'. It is written by a former cochlear implant surgeon who saw big differences in language development based on the age of the child when they get the implant. It has great recommendations about language exposure for infants and toddlers.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[CindyBS]

I'm not sure why a kid needs a smartphone. Most kids are around safe adults (teachers at school, parents at home, teachers/coaches at sports/other activities) and can always ask the adult to look up something online or call parents if needed. Why do they need a phone? Even kids that travel alone (maybe a teen that takes a public train or bus) at best needs a dumb phone. Why do they need a smartphone? And tablets are even worse.

To add, almost all kids I know have laptops or Chromebooks for school work. So I'm not sure why a smartphone is needed. I'm genuinely curious

My boys are 11 and 13.  The 13 year old got an old smart phone when he started 6th grade and had a 25 minute walk to school.  Unfortunately, there are no payphones any more so a phone is a must these days, sigh.  I had thought about a dumb phone, but all the dumb phones my plan was offering were designed for old people with giant buttons and no texting.  I bought a very old smart phone, mostly b/c I thought we would text.  His phone has to be turned off for school, so I hoped I could shoot him a text during the day, he would turn on phone right after school and see it.  Things like "Cross country was cancelled tonight, just come home".  What really happened is that he keeps his phone off 99% of the time and then turns it on when he wants to call someone.

The older boy lost his phone, so I got him an old model smartphone (still hoping to get him to text).  Then we found it two weeks later and I gave the original phone to my 11 year old who just started walking to a new school building 20 minutes away.  He also won't text.   

My 13 year old has cancer, and we did buy him a tablet for all the times he sits in chemo, the hospital and the like.  We will not buy one for our other son and would not have bought one for the 13 year old if he had not gotten sick.    He does get a Chromebook for school work, but has to turn it into the school in the summer, so no personal computing device in the summer.

I have consumer cellular and pay about $45/month for service for their phones and mine.  We share a pool of data.

[Just Joe]

I guess a new arcade opened up at the Mall of America. There's people on FB gushing about it.

It looks like a single go-kart ride costs $23, though there are probably packages or other ways to make the per ride cost lower. Virtual reality games cost $5 each. I can see this as being a money maker as there are plenty of people that will throw down money for such things.

The guy behind this is has opened up 5 in various malls in India, this is his first venture into the US. I give him credit for the investment.

You can OWN a used go-cart for ~$150 from a garage sale...

In honor of "Rogue One,"

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/ca919506-0146-4cd1-892e-3b9451affc84

I could fly a go-cart really well back when. No seat belts, no roll bars, and we'd drift it all over the place on a tar and chip country road. Fun toy good for giggle and some very genuine fear from time to time. Always fun getting zapped by the spark plug trying to switch off the engine. THAT was done with a little metal tab that grounded/shorted the ignition spark to the engine block. A wooden stick or a little juvenile focus and it could be done safely.

These days? I don't fit in the average go-cart very well... ;)

[horsepoor]

Opinions on these food prices?  Sawesome on FBT and most comments were that the grocery  prices were unrealistic, or would require  driving all over town ( though clearly all labels are Walmart store brand)

Eta:  this should be raw ingredients for chicken and mashed potatoes, would be cheaper....