So today at the bus stop, Sebastian dropped his most prized possession, the iPod Touch that my father gave him and cracked the glass screen. He is devastated. So now I am faced with a dilemma. . .
Part of me feels like this is an opportunity to let him learn a painful lesson about the value of money and possessions. I can have the iPod fixed for about $90.00. When Sebastian does all of his chores, he is eligible to get up to like $10.00 per week in allowance. But, often he doesn't do them all. My first instinct is to tell him that I will have it fixed and he can have it back when he has repaid me for the repairs.
On the other hand, the mommy in me who hates to see him so unhappy thinks it's cruel to keep the thing he loves the most away from him through the summer. Isn't it kind of unreasonable to expect him to work for 12 weeks (assuming he earns $7/week in allowance) to get it back?
I have to confess that I feel a certain level of responsibility for what happened. I should not have let him carry around such a delicate and slippery object unprotected. If it had been in a rugged neoprene case, it might have been cushioned enough to not break, or it may not have slipped out of his fingers in the first place.
Finally, I am asking myself if I would be so harsh if it had been Ronnie or me who broke our iPod. Would I insist that Ronnie forfeit the "blow money" that we budget in to pay for it? We are currently trying to adhere to a very strict budget (the $90 would have to come out somewhere else, like the dining out fund or the transfer to savings fund). . . . Or would I just have it fixed for him and take the opportunity to nag him about it relentlessly? (Don't answer that.)
Anyway - any and all opinions and advice would be much appreciated. ~~~Erica
