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Ok so am I crazy for buying my 8 year old son a PSP?

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Originally posted by: aplefka
Man, you are one brave father. Just hope that everything you think has been instilled in him has truly been instilled in him in stone, otherwise, in 8 years, he's going to be one giant pain in the ass.

And what's this bullshit with E's? I hate how much people try to be politically correct and not "hurt kids self-esteem" and whatnot. What a load of fvcking bullshit!
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E's and S's is what you get in grades k-3
 
Originally posted by: Epoman
Originally posted by: aplefka
Man, you are one brave father. Just hope that everything you think has been instilled in him has truly been instilled in him in stone, otherwise, in 8 years, he's going to be one giant pain in the ass.

And what's this bullshit with E's? I hate how much people try to be politically correct and not "hurt kids self-esteem" and whatnot. What a load of fvcking bullshit!
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E's and S's is what you get in grades k-3
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when i was in k-3 i got ABCDF, however that doesnt really matter

sounds like hes a good kid, go aheand and get it for him, just make sure he doesnt loose it or have it stolen
 
My bro who turned 10 a few months ago has a PSP. He is responsible with it and always puts it int he case and on the shelf. He is a bit sloppy with his tidying and stuff but he is a good kid.

I think it would be alright for you to get your son a PSP. Sounds like you have a great son.

My bro pretty much gets what he wants but he is a good boy albeit a bit leary at times.

If you can afford it why not? Cheaper then the Bday party also!

Koing
 
Originally posted by: Epoman
Originally posted by: aplefka
Man, you are one brave father. Just hope that everything you think has been instilled in him has truly been instilled in him in stone, otherwise, in 8 years, he's going to be one giant pain in the ass.

And what's this bullshit with E's? I hate how much people try to be politically correct and not "hurt kids self-esteem" and whatnot. What a load of fvcking bullshit!
Click to expand...

E's and S's is what you get in grades k-3
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Myself as well. E = Excellent, S = Satisfactory. Then I think it's D = deficient, then after that I don't remember what stood for failure.

Nothing wrong with that grading system.
 
Originally posted by: Epoman
Originally posted by: tk149
At what point are you going to teach him the value of money, and how hard it is to acquire? If you get him stuff like this now, where does it end? Are you going to buy him a Porshe at 16? A house at 21? A yacht at 25?

If you think he's earned it, then so be it, but be careful with the precedents you're setting, or life is going to kick your son in the teeth really hard some day.
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Well I'm not sure. I do NOT want him to have a part time job when he's older. I want ALL of his time going to school, community service, sports. I want him to go to college FULL time, again no part time job. so his first job will be when he graduates in what ever field he chooses. So as most kids will be flipping burgers and asking "you want frys with that" learning the value of a dollar while in HS. Hopefully my son will be keeping his 4.0+ GPA and spending his free time volunteering at community services. Will he learn the value of a dollar? I'm not sure but he will learn to help his fellow man which I think is far more important.

Also I will buy my son a car, if he deserves it. As he will need it to deliver food to the poor or disabled (Meals on Wheels). 🙂
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Wow.. I agreed with you until I read THIS.. OMG. I would NEVER hire someone out of college that has NEVER worked before. They have no understanding of "This is your boss" no understanding of working for a $. Wow. Just wow.

From your first post I thought we were pretty similar.. I dont give a rats ass what anyone on here thinks. If I think my 8 year old can handle a psp, then my 8 year old will get one. But damn man.. Make that kid work in highschool.. If you can afford it, put them through college without a job, but damn.. Give them some "real world" experience before they are out in the REAL WORLD

 
Originally posted by: hevnsnt
Originally posted by: Epoman
Originally posted by: tk149
At what point are you going to teach him the value of money, and how hard it is to acquire? If you get him stuff like this now, where does it end? Are you going to buy him a Porshe at 16? A house at 21? A yacht at 25?

If you think he's earned it, then so be it, but be careful with the precedents you're setting, or life is going to kick your son in the teeth really hard some day.
Click to expand...

Well I'm not sure. I do NOT want him to have a part time job when he's older. I want ALL of his time going to school, community service, sports. I want him to go to college FULL time, again no part time job. so his first job will be when he graduates in what ever field he chooses. So as most kids will be flipping burgers and asking "you want frys with that" learning the value of a dollar while in HS. Hopefully my son will be keeping his 4.0+ GPA and spending his free time volunteering at community services. Will he learn the value of a dollar? I'm not sure but he will learn to help his fellow man which I think is far more important.

Also I will buy my son a car, if he deserves it. As he will need it to deliver food to the poor or disabled (Meals on Wheels). 🙂
Click to expand...

Wow.. I agreed with you until I read THIS.. OMG. I would NEVER hire someone out of college that has NEVER worked before. They have no understanding of "This is your boss" no understanding of working for a $. Wow. Just wow.

From your first post I thought we were pretty similar.. I dont give a rats ass what anyone on here thinks. If I think my 8 year old can handle a psp, then my 8 year old will get one. But damn man.. Make that kid work in highschool.. If you can afford it, put them through college without a job, but damn.. Give them some "real world" experience before they are out in the REAL WORLD
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my first real job was my first job out of college.

before that i worked for 1 summer as a waiter at the age of 23.

it's the OP's prerogative to teach his son what he deems important and i think his son will turn out fine.
 
Originally posted by: hevnsnt
Originally posted by: Epoman
Originally posted by: tk149
At what point are you going to teach him the value of money, and how hard it is to acquire? If you get him stuff like this now, where does it end? Are you going to buy him a Porshe at 16? A house at 21? A yacht at 25?

If you think he's earned it, then so be it, but be careful with the precedents you're setting, or life is going to kick your son in the teeth really hard some day.
Click to expand...

Well I'm not sure. I do NOT want him to have a part time job when he's older. I want ALL of his time going to school, community service, sports. I want him to go to college FULL time, again no part time job. so his first job will be when he graduates in what ever field he chooses. So as most kids will be flipping burgers and asking "you want frys with that" learning the value of a dollar while in HS. Hopefully my son will be keeping his 4.0+ GPA and spending his free time volunteering at community services. Will he learn the value of a dollar? I'm not sure but he will learn to help his fellow man which I think is far more important.

Also I will buy my son a car, if he deserves it. As he will need it to deliver food to the poor or disabled (Meals on Wheels). 🙂
Click to expand...

Wow.. I agreed with you until I read THIS.. OMG. I would NEVER hire someone out of college that has NEVER worked before. They have no understanding of "This is your boss" no understanding of working for a $. Wow. Just wow.

From your first post I thought we were pretty similar.. I dont give a rats ass what anyone on here thinks. If I think my 8 year old can handle a psp, then my 8 year old will get one. But damn man.. Make that kid work in highschool.. If you can afford it, put them through college without a job, but damn.. Give them some "real world" experience before they are out in the REAL WORLD
Click to expand...
I gotta agree with hevnsnt on this one. I'm the only one of my friends who went through HS working for a job, went through college working and not getting ANY loans...now I'm the only one of my friends that isn't in over 10K in debt at age 23.
This all came from learning the value of money at an even younger age (around 8-10) when parents started giving me an "paycheck" for things i did around the house and helping my dad by cleaning stalls and other manual labor... i had to buy all my own toys, video games, everything that didn't involve food/clothes/shelter (except on holidays and bdays of course). And like i said its led me to being one of the few friends my age that actually has a savings, can buy a house if i wanted to, has a good credit reating, and no debt after college.
 
This thread isn't about his parenting style, which has obviously been paying off from reading the OP's comments. If you think he can handle the responsibility and he would actually use the item, then why not?

Your only problem will be other children, perhaps a rule that he uses it inside the house only? I can see a disaster when his friends say "let me see that!" and do not have the same care that your son does.
 
this kid sounds a lot like me when i was young. let's just hope he doesnt discover pot or pussy or he's gonna turn out just like me (a burnout)
 
A $300, easy to break machine for a 8 years olf kid???

You gotta be fvckin kidding 😛

Seriously buy him a GBA SP, it can be drop on the floor multiple time and will still work....

You do that ONCE with a PSP and its bye bye
 
Originally posted by: hevnsnt
your post makes no sense.. You had a job before you graduated. You worked as a waiter.
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my apologies, i didn't think being a waiter for a summer would qualify as a real job.

i still feel that it is ok if you don't work in high school or in college.
 
Originally posted by: CorporateRecreation
This thread isn't about his parenting style, which has obviously been paying off from reading the OP's comments. If you think he can handle the responsibility and he would actually use the item, then why not?

Your only problem will be other children, perhaps a rule that he uses it inside the house only? I can see a disaster when his friends say "let me see that!" and do not have the same care that your son does.
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Yes that's my biggest concern.
 
Originally posted by: sonambulo
this kid sounds a lot like me when i was young. let's just hope he doesnt discover pot or pussy or he's gonna turn out just like me (a burnout)
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🙁

 
Originally posted by: shilala
I think you did the right thing.
Kids learn responsibility by giving them responsibility.
Last week my 8 year old daughter broke the antenna of of her wireless g usb adapter. She came and showed it to me and I was pretty upset because we had an argument about mounting it where it wouldn't get broke and she refused to do it.
The next day I went out and bought her a new one.
I gave it to her and told her I bought it because I was proud of her recent efforts. She's been making a conscious effort to clean up her room and her generally hoggish habits.
I also took opportunity to once again explain how sensitive these kinds of things are and the care that has to be given to them.
She installed the new adapter, mounted it where it couldn't be broken, and everything is fine.
It was a VERY well spent 40 bucks.
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I give my son resposability and all he does is break crap I buy for him and doesnt even say he is sorry or care 🙁
BTW he gets nothing exspensive from me anymore till he can show he is responsable.
 
Originally posted by: Epoman
Originally posted by: CorporateRecreation
This thread isn't about his parenting style, which has obviously been paying off from reading the OP's comments. If you think he can handle the responsibility and he would actually use the item, then why not?

Your only problem will be other children, perhaps a rule that he uses it inside the house only? I can see a disaster when his friends say "let me see that!" and do not have the same care that your son does.
Click to expand...

Yes that's my biggest concern.
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Have you talked to him about this?
 
Originally posted by: Skoorb
Probably would have been better to get advice on that perior to purchase 🙂 My real surprise here is the $600-800 for birthday parties. That's pretty nuts...
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AMEN!
WTF... $800?!?! I have 2 little ones and never come close to that much.
Shoulda bought him a DS and saved the extra money.
 
I don't think buying a 8 year old kid a $300 portable gaming device is a good idea. I think if he wants something, he should buy it with money earned and accumulated from doing chores. Give him a couple of dollars for each hour of work he's done. Buying him something that expensive for just being a nice kid at such an young age is a bad idea, very bad idea.
 
He's a godo kid, great, perfect...top in his class? great, perfect...

buying a PSP for a "good" kid?...I don't see the harm, but just remember what video games do to right young kids.
 
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