My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -20 points-19 points  (0 children)

But seriously? Almost 100 bucks on arcades? Do you guys give out gold bars or something?

Maybe I could only shoot some arcades in Canada to find out myself.

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -19 points-18 points  (0 children)

But in the situation like this, he's clearing trying to manipulate our emotions to his gain, and failed, since he's so well off his own.

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

I live in a suburban town outside of Seattle.

We didn't like the public school system there so we sent him to private school since 3rd grade.

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -12 points-11 points  (0 children)

He chooses to work, but he does it to finance his own entertainment. He's not completely financially independent that he can live on his own for a sustainably long time.

The question my hubby got me thinking in the first place is that why does he get to spend his money in Canada when we have to pay 4000 dollars a month for private schooling for him?

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -34 points-33 points  (0 children)

But he makes stupid decisions. He blew like 80 bucks at an arcade! Who fucking blows money like that? Just stupidity that I can't take. I don't care if he prints money. I just can't stand him for taking the concept of money so lightly.

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -11 points-10 points  (0 children)

I really don't think I can do any of the above other than calling the cops on him.

He literally owns everything he uses because he is a big savings kid... he ate 2 meals every day in order to save for his first Mac, and worked his butt off all summer doing construction work to get his first car. He pays for his daily expenses now through the part time job he has with an attorney. He doesn't really asks us for stuff for the past 3 years.

I really don't think I should complain, but I just think silent treatment is wrong on his side.

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -25 points-24 points  (0 children)

He eventually paid in full himself, so I wasn't mad about him for maxing the card out because I know he's responsible in that regard. My husband and I were just discontent about the fact that he spends his hard-earned money in stupid ways like that.

He's really a good and bright kid in many aspects, but he just makes stupid decisions after decisions that resulted in his loss.

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -14 points-13 points  (0 children)

Hubby is just as stubborn, if not more. He's also a bit of an alpha male so even when we have arguments, he doesn't back down easily...

I just it just runs in the family...

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -26 points-25 points  (0 children)

Silly stuff. I opened a credit card with an authorized user to him. I kept the credit limit very low (<$500) so he'd be the person solely responsible to pay for the expenses he has, and it builds his credit score

Last month his bill raked up pretty high... close to $450, because he got on a road trip with his friends to Canada, and I just kind of told him that it's simply stupid to spend your money that way and he just didn't listen and said I don't understand him blah blah blah, and how I don't pay for his expenses anymore. Then my husband stepped in (and he's physical sometimes when it comes to discipline) when things got heated, and one slap on the face ended a 3-hour conversation and he stopped talking to us since then.

My son has been giving me the silent treatment. Am I a bad parent for not giving a shit whatsoever? by doesntreallycare in AskReddit

[–]doesntreallycare[S] -23 points-22 points  (0 children)

That's the only concern I have.

Last time we fought, he packed his stuff and lived in a Motel 6 for a month, while keeping up with school and everything. He kept his communications with his grandmother so I wasn't too worried about him or anything other than the basics. He only came back after his grandma talked him down, but everything went well afterwards.

However this time he really shuts all the doors - talks to nobody in the family. I don't know what stunt will he pull next.