Just wanted to point out that Catechism is not an extra. It's religious education and preparation for the sacraments - something many people consider just as important - if not more so - than any other schooling. I don't think Catechism could be excessive - unless you think maybe God is excessive?
Oh no, I understand that Catechism is a very important part of religious education for those who practice the Catholic faith. I really have no idea what's involved, as neither I nor their father is religious in the least, so he can't explain it to me.
FTR - My kids each get $5 a tooth unless it's an extraction by the dentist which pays $10. It's pretty much the norm in our area, they don't have an endless supply of teeth to abuse the privilege, and as long as the kids still believe in the tooth fairy I will help perpetuate the myth by adjusting the Tooth Fairy's Cost of Living Index as required. I don't count scouts or Catechism as extra activities but more of an extension of their education. By my reasoning, that leaves dance & swimming for the girl and just swimming for the boy. In the grand scheme of things around here, that would in no way qualify them as over-indulged...
You've got a lot of good points, and I thank you for posting; there are lots of things I really didn't think about. I guess the issue is that this particular woman appears as though she's running herself ragged; she works full-time as a 3rd grade teacher, she drives the kids herself to all these activities, and she's a Brownie leader and a catechism teacher. I'm just afraid that she's taken on too much, but you know what...
it's none of my business! I really despise those "well-meaning" people who give "advice" on everything, and I don't want to be one of them.
I think I've got to realize that not every couple operates and has the same mindset like my parents had. As well, my mother was a SAHM and my father was an accountant (now retired) with an excellent handle on his finances. We never wanted for anything; we went on trips to Disney, we were signed up for whatever we wanted to do, and I can
never remember being told "no" when I asked for $10 or $20 for "whatever". While we didn't get nearly $5/tooth, we did get many, MANY other things that a lot of my friends didn't get. Gee, maybe my brothers and I were the over-indulged ones...
The kids in this situation will likely not get to go to Disney until they can pay for it themselves, they don't have a summer home, and the mom is putting the house on the market and moving into an apartment because she can't keep up with the household bills any more. The more I think about it, the more that $5/tooth sounds pretty darn reasonable, especially when the money goes right into their bank accounts. It just baffles me, especially after the environment I grew up in, how people like the mom can be so irresponsible with their finances. Mom and Dad are both great parents, though, and I know they care about the kids very much. I'm sure they have both learned from their own mistakes and will each bring up the kids to learn how to handle their money better than they did.
p.s.- The thing that really bothers me is that Dad pays a very reasonable amount of child support to Mom each month, imo (I think it's $500/mo per child; does this seem right?). Yet because of
her continued poor spending habits, she has to keep asking for money to pay for this and that activity, while the money he gives her should be more than enough to care for the kids' needs. Oh, and Dad pays the mortgage on their house ($1000/mo), even though he doesn't live there any more, because Mom can't afford to. I can understand him wanting to shell out the money "for the kids", but how will this teach Mom to spend her money more responsibly???
Anyway when he loses a "silver tooth" we do give him $5 because he went through a lot to get those and he was very proud of them.
only had a $20 bill on her the night dd lost her tooth. So dd got the $20 along with a nice note from the toothfairy
