• Flying Squid
    link
    1066 months ago

    It’s not just ‘doom spending.’ There is next to nothing to do without spending money anymore. Pretty much the only free things anymore are city parks in good weather and libraries all year around. I have a 13-year-old. She’s constantly looking for things to do. There’s so little for her to do for free. She’s in online school, so sometimes it’s nice to get out of the house and go to a cafe to do her schoolwork. $15 minimum every time.

    • @MacGuffin94
      link
      366 months ago

      Idk about you but every activity is about $100/month too. I have kids in dance, $100/month per kid. Same with swim lessons (yes at the YMCA too). Looked into ice skating lessons and it’s the same. I want my kids to be able to try things but there’s no way we can afford to do more than one activity at a time and that’s a stretch sometimes.

      • @foggy
        link
        146 months ago

        Pff. Piano lessons, guitar lessons… That’s about $300 a month if they’re going weekly.

      • Flying Squid
        link
        96 months ago

        Yep. She has drum lessons once a week. That’s all we can afford. And that’s just her and a drum teacher, so it’s not even like it’s a ton of social interaction. I’d love to get her to do other classes and things like that, but we can’t afford them.

        • @MacGuffin94
          link
          136 months ago

          Yeah and that’s another barrier, start up cost. Instruments are expensive. I grew up playing hockey and if I want my kids to try it it’s around $2000 just for one season.

          • Flying Squid
            link
            46 months ago

            We were (somewhat) lucky on that end. Her drum teacher sold us a simple drum set for $500 a couple of years ago and we’ve just added bits to it since then. Considering how much drum sets can cost, that was a bargain.

            But we also had two incomes at the time. We’re down to one now.

            • @foggy
              link
              36 months ago

              A snare drum can cost $500, easy.

              • Flying Squid
                link
                06 months ago

                Yeah, this is definitely not a high-end drum kit, but she’s a kid and she’s not going to be playing gigs any time soon.

                • @foggy
                  link
                  56 months ago

                  No I mean, you got a deal!

                  • Flying Squid
                    link
                    26 months ago

                    For sure. I just wish she’d practice at home more often. Sigh. Kids.

        • @SynAcker
          link
          86 months ago

          As a percussion instructor, it makes me happy that you are investing in your child’s talent by getting them lessons!

          • Flying Squid
            link
            26 months ago

            Thanks! She really likes it. I think it’s a good way for her to get aggressions out that she has trouble getting out in other ways.

      • @cybervseas
        link
        English
        46 months ago

        Only $100/mo? You’re lucky! My nephews’ tennis and violin lessons are way more than that. Like multiple times more. You must live in a LCOL area.

    • @ConstipatedWatson
      link
      76 months ago

      And then, there’s Lemmy that’s free! 🧐

      Just kidding, I’m not disagreeing with you

      • Flying Squid
        link
        226 months ago

        That’s kind of the sad part really. She doesn’t use Lemmy, but she basically spends her free time, when she’s not doing other solo activities like drawing, on social media so she has a way to ‘hang out’ with her friends. In her case, she doesn’t even get to see her friends in school anymore (pulling her out was very necessary and partially her choice). If she wants to spend time with friends and doesn’t want to do it with parents hanging around, and I don’t blame her for wanting that, pretty much the only free thing she can do at this time of the year with them is walk around the mall and window-shop. In other words, the main free thing for kids to do is wish they had money.

        • netburnr
          link
          English
          116 months ago

          In other words, the main free thing for kids to do is wish they had money.

          To be fare it was the same way for me as a kid in the 80s

          Luckily we still had alladins castle and Sega cities back then so we could at least play some games between wanting a cd or something from hot topic.

          • Flying Squid
            link
            16 months ago

            There are a lot of hiking trails and things, but we never seem to find anyone for her to be friends with on them. She’s very shy, which doesn’t help.

        • young_broccoli
          link
          fedilink
          16 months ago

          What about finding a band?
          Even if she is still a very begginer I’ve seen that playing in a band can help you improve faster and learn other skills necessary as a musician (specially for drummers imo) also I made my best friendships and had the most fun while playing in a band.

          PS: In case you havent done it; swapping the drum heads for good “brand name” ones can really improove a cheap drumkit, that and new cymbals (cymbals are the weakest part on any cheap drumkit).

    • @[email protected]
      link
      fedilink
      -176 months ago

      Public schools have plenty of extracurriculars for free or cheap. It sounds like online school is holding back your child from the kind of experiences she’s looking for.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        286 months ago

        You apparently have no current connection to public schools. All of the extracurricular activities cost money since the districts lost funding for them. Band? Uniform fee and instrument rental. Sports? Uniform and equipment fees. Dance, cheerleading, theater, etc. gotta pay since the school no longer has a budget.

        • PugJesus
          link
          fedilink
          16 months ago

          Oh, no, that’s the worst part - oftentimes the schools have the budget for it. But why spend on subsidizing the poors and losing an income stream when you can blow that money on a new stadium instead?

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          16 months ago

          Clubs are typically free. Chess club, book club, tabletop gaming, etc. Additionally there is typically financial assistance for the fees, and regardless it’s cheaper than pursuing these activities outside of a school setting. $100/no for a drum tutor would translate to an entire school year of many extracurriculars.

      • Flying Squid
        link
        46 months ago

        Kind of hard to have extracurricular activities when the student body is spread throughout the entire state.

        • @[email protected]
          link
          fedilink
          46 months ago

          Yeah exactly. I did online school for high school and feel like I really missed out since I couldn’t join any clubs or participate in activities in-person.

          • Flying Squid
            link
            -16 months ago

            I realize she’ll miss out, but she was being so severely bullied in her school that she couldn’t face another day, so we had to take her out. And now we need to give her time to heal.

            • @[email protected]
              link
              fedilink
              16 months ago

              Social isolation is also horrifically harmful to adolescents. Sounds like there’s a better path here that allows your kiddo to get back into society and set her up for success in the future.

              • Flying Squid
                link
                -16 months ago

                Maybe eventually, but not until she heals. She can’t handle public school right now.