Article: How I made sure all 12 of my kids could pay for college themselves

[dreamer8887]

This might have been posted already, but I haven't seen it on the Mini Mustache forum so I thought I'd post it, I think the principles and methods these parents used will resonate with many here:

https://qz.com/165716/how-i-made-sure-all-12-of-my-kids-could-pay-for-college-themselves/

[acroy]

BADASS!
Great link, thanks.
I'm going to implement a few into our own routine.

[sjc0816]

I'm not quite sure how they managed to implement mandatory 6-8pm study time if they also required that all of the kids do 1) a sport and 2) a club. My kids are still young and we STILL wouldn't be able to implement this due to sports obligations. For the most part, our kids are gone at least 3 evenings a week doing activities...and always during those hours. They get all of their homework studying done but there's no way it would be 6-8pm every weeknight.

Also, in my opinion...this is ridiculous:

"All the kids were required to take every Advanced Placement class there was. We did not let entrance scores be an impediment. We went to the school and demanded our kids be let in."

They demanded? They sound a little obsessive.

[dreamer8887]

I agree with both of you, Acroy and SJC! I think heaps of their methods are indeed "badass" and there are many that I'd like to implement when DD is the appropriate age.

But yeah, that "made them do all the AP courses available" thing stuck out as a bit crazy, IMO. If my kid is passionate about chemistry and wants to do AP chemistry, great, I'll be on board and help her achieve that. But why make her do all the other AP classes as well? Although, I'm not too familiar with the US school system, maybe it's possible that there were only a few AP classes available at their school?

The things that most stuck out to me were about teaching them to do things themselves (want a car/computer? Sure - here are the things you need to build one!) and letting them go on vacations on their own from a young age to teach independence.

[jeninco]

Yeah, the "made our kids take AP classes" doesn't sound like a winner to me. In fact, my kid is in an AP computer science class with a couple of boys whose parents "made them" take it, and he hates that they're continually disruptive and generally derail the class several times per week, are disrespectful to the teacher, etc. They're not in the class because they care, so they have no skin in the game.

[Prairie Stash]

Yeah, the "made our kids take AP classes" doesn't sound like a winner to me. In fact, my kid is in an AP computer science class with a couple of boys whose parents "made them" take it, and he hates that they're continually disruptive and generally derail the class several times per week, are disrespectful to the teacher, etc. They're not in the class because they care, so they have no skin in the game.

But maybe their snowflake deserves it more?

I'm against it too. You didn't put the work in before but you expect special privilege after. A 2-tiered system of kids who earn it and kids who have parents that can bully teachers. In general making demands of teachers is crossing a line of respect, asking nicely and working with someone is different than demanding a seat.

Most schools I've seen have limited seats, did they bump off a student that earned their seat? I was the unfortunate witness to seeing a seat taken by a kid who didn't deserve it. In a zero sum arrangement they screwed over a kid by their actions.

[ubermom4]

Thanks for posting this great story. Have enjoyed it and shared it with friends.

[GizmoTX]

We advised our son to not take any STEM AP courses; since he was planning to major in engineering, it's far better to retake the science & math courses at the engineering school so as to not miss anything that it expects its students to know for later courses. He still was able to graduate in 4 years with 2 degrees (Electrical Engineering & Math) but couldn't do it any quicker because the engineering school requires a full year of Senior Design. He is getting his Masters degree in EE in just 2 more semesters, taking advantage of the school's 4+1 (year) plan.

[MightyAl]

I call bs that every one of their kids cars had 450hp. If their first kid had a 65 mustang with a 289 it costs a lot of money to get 350 horse out of it much less 450. I think much of this is exaggeration just by going off of this. I don't think they spent $20k plus for each engine build to get that kind of power and certainly not by a novice mechanic with simply a shop manual to go by.

Also their kids are up till 10 and having breakfast at 5am. Sorry but kids under 12 need way more sleep then that and I would say that most older kids do too.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

Not sure why the "AP exam" thing is being singled out as opposed to, say, each child being bought a car? Read the title of the article again.

The AP tests are one of the most effective ways to achieve their goal: an exam fee being maybe $100 and a uni course being probably > $1k; the additional scholarships that are accessible to people with the GPA boost that AP courses give.

And besides, the AP courses in a typical high school are pretty "core" I'd say - a capable student should learn biology, history, some foreign language, even(!) basic comp sci. With American standards in education, I'd actually consider the AP courses to be "standard" level for an intelligent kid. If they don't like the subject, then more power to them - they can avoid it in college (which again, saves money).

[goatmom]

Some great ideas in the article.  I am sure things did not run as smoothly as he describes.  Dinner at the same time every night? wouldn't mom and dad be driving to sporting events and attending them?  Still impressive.  Especially no food allergies.  I was from a very large family too and my mother would say that food allergies were not allowed.  And none of us had any.  How does that work?  We rarely went to the doctor either.

[Vanguards and Lentils]

Some great ideas in the article.  I am sure things did not run as smoothly as he describes.  Dinner at the same time every night? wouldn't mom and dad be driving to sporting events and attending them?  Still impressive.  Especially no food allergies.  I was from a very large family too and my mother would say that food allergies were not allowed.  And none of us had any.  How does that work?  We rarely went to the doctor either.

There isn't really a consensus yet on how to prevent food allergies: One paper. Another paper.

There are a lot of possible variables to this kind of study (exactly how early to introduce foods, exactly how much to introduce, etc) and it is hard to do a randomized control trial for. And of course there is some genetics involved. My gut says the best thing for parents to do is early introduction to a variety of foods (no stupid "kids' foods" like Dino Nuggets or Fries while the adults eat their adult food). Going off this, it would make sense that in a big family, the one preparing the food wouldn't prepare separate kids food items, since it would be too time-consuming. So the kids would be exposed to a larger variety of real-world foods early on. In smaller families I often see the mother battling with the kid to get him to eat - and it makes me wonder where along the line she "surrendered" to the kid and started feeding him his own specialized menu of junk food.

Another interesting hypothesis is that having a dog in the home can prevent some skin conditions.

[abhe8]

Interesting for sure. My parents required me and siblings to take all the AP courses m I think my school had 11 or 12. It's one of the best ways to maximize a public school education. Even if you choose  retake sci or math courses in college, you will breeze through them after a more rigorous highschool curriculum. I'm not sure why you would not want your kid in the better classes, assuming they are bright enough to be successful.

My parents also required us all to have a sport, a music and a club. It served us all well and I will likely follow suit with my kid as well.

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