Daily Piglet has a question:
Our lovely daughter went a little nuts with her cell phone plan and the result was a very high cell phone bill.
Her "friend" is offering to pay for part of it, this friend offered to pay for the phone in the first place but I declined the offer. This friend continues to offer us money to pay for the bill, even before our daughter thought she was Paris Hilton and texted 1800 times in a few weeks.
The problem, my husband doesn't think we should take this friend's money due to the age of said person, which is 15. The person earned this money by working a part time job.
My first response has always been to decline the offer, but lately I have begun to wonder if I should just go ahead and take the money, using it to pay towards the bill our daughter created. The amount being offered is $400 but I think that's a bit too much and would settle for something in the neighborhood of $100.
Since the husband and I are not in agreement, I would appreciate your input. You're my only hope.
I don't think you should accept the friend's offer to help pay the bill. I think you should pay it and make your daughter work to pay you back for it. I also think she should be grounded from the cell phone for awhile, or at least from texting. It might be beneficial to get an unlimited texting plan and make your daughter pay the additional cost each month. I don't remember if your daughter is old enough to get a part-time job, but even if she isn't, she is certainly old enough to take on additional responsibilities. I know she doesn't live with you full-time right now, but there are probably all sorts of chores you can save up for her. The bottom line is that she needs to be responsible for the bill in same shape or form.
