Bank of Mum and Dad 'feels the pinch'

[NigelJK]

ruined their street cred

That's it in a nutshell. No one will 'laugh' at them for having a £50 smart phone (if you think they need one), or a pair of trainers for training in (note I had to buy my own out of paper round money, could not afford spikes for running but still had the school record for Hurdles).

[original PM]

No and probably part of the reason most of us went contracting. It's just a tricky balance between spoiling them and spoiling them too much that they become expectant of the spoiling and a bit of a label snob.

Well interestingly enough this weekend we went to a family bbq - the kids were fine and not naughty - but spent most of the time on their phones with ear phones in and were not so interactive!

Kind of pissed me off a bit as we do not get together as a family that often but it is not like they were bad - would I have been as bothered if they had sat quietly in a corner reading a book?

As you say it's that tricky balance

suppose next weekend we are going camping which is anything but posh soooo....

[Old Greg]

Hmm - i agree and I don't - if you look at the way me or my parents were raised there was a lot of poverty and casual violence was used to 'solve' a number of problems.

Should we go back to the days if capital punishment to ensure kids do what they are told?

However the world has moved on and you cannot raise your children like that - and the problem is if you do have money - do you deny your kids the finer things in life? - yes you can make them earn it but not in a way I had to earn money when I was young.

So yeah tell you what - dump your iPhones, gym membership, hipster do's, tat's, regular mochachocochino's from that trendy italian coffee shop, golf gti on pcp, regular holidays etc

and then come back and tell me you have no money.

We were evicted from our hole in the road.

[original PM]

We were evicted from our hole in the road.

Hole in the road?

Luxury.

[ChimpMaster]

Sheesh you guys don't half moan much.

Moan this, phone that, hole this, capital punishment that.

It's like an episode of EastEnders every day here on CUK.

[sasguru]

Sheesh you guys don't half moan much.

Common trait of losers.

[Zigenare]

Sheesh you guys don't half moan much.

Moan this, phone that, hole this, capital punishment that.

It's like an episode of EastEnders every day here on CUK.

It never used to be this bad

You know it's heading downhill when the likes of "sasguru" and "Old Greg" think they're top of the heap!

[sasguru]

You know it's heading downhill when the likes of "sasguru" and "Old Greg" think they're top of the heap!

As ever it's relative

[LondonManc]

As ever it's relative

So were your parents, which explains so much.

[jmo21]

Well interestingly enough this weekend we went to a family bbq - the kids were fine and not naughty - but spent most of the time on their phones with ear phones in and were not so interactive!

Kind of pissed me off a bit as we do not get together as a family that often but it is not like they were bad - would I have been as bothered if they had sat quietly in a corner reading a book?

As you say it's that tricky balance

suppose next weekend we are going camping which is anything but posh soooo....

We had family round for a barbecue, and the kids (all younger without their own phones) were asking for our ipads or their handheld games consoles. We said no, play in the garden. They moaned a little, but accepted it.

I can imagine it will become harder when they are older and we relent and get them their own phones.

Interesting point about reading books too.