No. 2
 

Instead of a stroller, steal a shopping cart.

No. 2
 

Not a bad idea. Do they fold easily?

No. 2
 

They do if you run over them with an X5.

Flying
 

I've taken a few flights with my (gasp) 4 year old. Maybe I'm just getting a fear of flying but it seems every landing has the plane frantically trying to right itself when it is almost on the ground. And the landings always seem rough.

Could someone explain this fumbling in a way that is reassuring (or at least honest). I'm trying not to let my stress show to my little one but I'm practically having a heart attack whenever we land. If one wing is way higher than the other when the plane hits the ground, aren't we going to flip over and die terrible deaths? When one pilot is landing the thing, why can't the other one get on the overhead and reassure us how everything is going great? Because otherwise, when the plane is spazzing I imagine all the pilots in the cockpit freaking out, doing the novena and sweating profusely. I am always looking for the flight attendant, watching for signs of horror.

Yeah, I know. Valium.

Flying
 

Yeah, valium. For what it's worth, I loved turbulence as a child. It was like a roller coaster. I don't think kids really appreciate the concept of death or the potential for dying.

Also, when the wings are much higher on one side, it's usually because they're landing with a crosswind, and they dip the wings towards the wind. That way, if a gust comes, it will push the plane down flat. Roughly, but flat.

Flying
 

Translation: if I were Neo i would have taken the blue pill.

making allowances
 

At what ages do you give kids how much for an allowance? And how does it work?

making allowances
 

at 3 or 4 my son had a chore. He had to help me take the garbage cans back in. He wasn't much help, but having a chore helped establish responsibility maybe (we could never get daughter to do fuckall). We gave him a buck or two a week. He always has some job now, and still has that dumb chore. how much depends on shopping opportunities at the age of your kids, no? I mean they aren't on their own at stores right?

making allowances
 

I don't want to tie chores and allowance too closely because the family is not a market economy. Kids should do the chores because they have to do chores, not because they'll be paid.

I want to move to an allowance not because L'il Ty is going shopping on his own a bunch, but because right now we buy him stuff from time to time, and I'd rather get him to prioritize and know where the limits are. A dollar or two a week isn't much, but I'm not sure where the right line is.

making allowances
 

My kid is randomly showered with cash by her grandmother and others (grandma is the worst offender). It is hard to get her to prioritize when she can pull a $100 bill out of her piggy bank, which she did once, much to my surprise. I took it for research purposes.

making allowances
 

Just because they get paid for doing something doesn't make it a "market" economy. The Russians got paid to do lots of things (like build cars that didn't work). And I'm not sure they had much choice in the matter anyway.

That said, if you want to hold firm againt the alienation of labor, I guess you have a point.

(daddy, where do you go every day in the morning?)

making allowances
 

I keep waiting for my wife's relatives to do this, since they did it for her, but apparently they don't love her kids as much.

making allowances
 

I don't mean to shield my children from the reality that they'll have to work for a living someday, but I don't want them to think that they're doing their chores because they'll get paid. From each according to his ability, to each according to his need, etc.

making allowances
 

My son makes $50 a month sewing "Polo" labels onto my shirts with free canings if he asks to go to the bathroom.

making allowances
 

Ty can help them learn capitalism here

making allowances
 

It is like you are my parents, or at least went to the same Marx School for Raising Children.

You might want to rethink your strategy -- look how I turned out.


I am very bored and would like to go home and play with my kitten.

making allowances
 

You can't just close the office door?

Sigh. I miss Pepper.

making allowances
 

Right. If my kid learned that I don't make $200 a week we'd be forbidden from ordering from the dollar menu and sitting in the cheap seats he has been accustomed to.

Lowered expectations.
 

My daughter (almost 7) told me last week that I was funny. For a lawyer.

Oh sharper than a serpent's tooth!!!

P.S. - This was not meant to be its own thread.

making allowances
 

Nobody else seems to want to answer the questions, so . . .

My kids have the opportunity to earn a buck per week per grade they are in (e.g. when in 2nd grade they could earn 2 bucks). As they get into higher grades, this will likely end up with a multiple. I don't pay them per chore, but pay them if they have contributed to the family and done a reasonable amount of chores (there are also non-monetary consequences involved with not doing chores).

I fully believe in the alienation of labor and will pay them directly for doing extra work beyond their chores (e.g. picking up the branches from the ground after I've trimmed the shrubbery into the shape of large dollar signs and swans and whatnot).

making allowances
 

I see you decided to take my advice and not mention the "fashion industry camp" in Cambodia you send them to every summer. Wise move.

making allowances
 

nah

making allowances
 

I answered the question; my answer simply didn't please Ty.

Lowered expectations.
 

A one post personal thread... You godamn egomaniac.

Lowered expectations.
 

on a day when we've been sadly reminded how much damage one disgruntled lunatic can do, you're going to fuck with Ironweed? I bet this VT shit bought him another year at the firm.

Making allowances? Or . . . BRIBERY?
 

making allowances
 

I was delighted and gratified to learn that your kid(s) had chores at age 3 or 4. But that doesn't help me decide how to work an allowance (alas). More of your wisdom, please.

making allowances
 

Why not make a basic disconnect. Sort of a family citizenship thing. Everybody contributes. Everybody gets some money. They have responsibilities each week (walking the dog, cleaning their room, whatever) and they get an allowance each week. Fail to contribute, then no soup for them. You can cite Hugo Chavez if they press you on the point.

making allowances
 

I wonder if Taxwonk takes 35% of his income and redistributes it as allowance to the kids.

making allowances
 

He tried that, but his wife decided that wasn't enough for both the movie and popcorn (after all they do have Wonk's genes).

making allowances
 

No. He takes 25% and redistributes it to a large, highly-esteemed educational institution. Whatever is left over after paying for field trips, class parties, and pencil cases, he saves toward his daughter's college tuition.

making allowances
 

He takes 35%. But they get only 20%.

Allowances
 

Ty - I also don't pay Vietbabe to do chores. But....if you aren't paying for chores, it's hard to come up with a basis for an "allowance". Because they aren't shopping for their food, clothes, etc. and not going out without you for pizza with friends so they don't need the allowance. What I did was this: Vietbabe collects coins around the house and the car (prime pickins there!) and puts them in a Mason jar kept on the top of the frig. The other day, we went to a supermarket that had one of those "Coinstars" and I lifted her and she dumped the coins in and it tells you how much $$ you dumped in ($96 for one Mason Jar-full!). The machine lets you put some of the money towards charity and gives you a cash receipt for the rest. Then, I gave her a basket and told her she could buy one drink, a movie/vhs or 2 and a sweet (cupcake). She struggled over which drink flavor and which video to buy but it was good for her. Then, she went through the check-out line by herself.

I think the decisions/prioritizing is what you are also after, no? You could also sponsor a child and have your's contribute part of his/her "allowance" towards it.

(PS-I pocketed all but $20 that was left over after Vietbabe used the $96 cash receipt. Hey, Coinstar took an 8% share. Mom's gotta get her take too.)

Allowances
 

Yesterday's Boston Globe has an article about the allowance controversy:

"Even the experts aren't united on the value of an allowance."

Larger Car?
 

So, those of you who've moved from the 5-passenger vehicle to the 7 or 8, what do you drive, why did you pick it, and how do you like it?

From what I've read so far, and from anecdotal evidence from friends' experiences, basically I'm getting that we'd be crazy if we got anything other than a Honda Odyssey.

tm

Larger Car?
 

It is physically impossile to look cool in a mini-van.

Larger Car?
 

Honda Pilot is nice. 3d Row seat stows all the way to the floor. Not as toolish as the Odyssey.

However, about Hondas, I don't know if they have electronic stability control: a must in my book.

Can always look at the Toyota equivalents.

Larger Car?
 

Um, I guess I should mention that I care about gas mileage?

Friends have a Pilot, and I've driven it. It is an SUV, and while not as much of a truck/beast as my brother's Suburban, it's not particularly well-mannered.

And the third row is not as accessible in most SUVs as it is in most minivans. And I'll be needing that third row more than just occasionally.

tm

The only thing we're considering along with an Odyssey is the new GMC Acadia, which has received pretty good reviews. It's a crossover SUV with a minivan-like seating arrangement. Here's one of the reviews I saw recently. We'll look at the Sienna too, and maybe the Quest, but we aren't really going to buy for a couple more years. I just like to research ahead of time.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/...acadia_review/

Gift Suggestions?
 

I'm looking for a gift for a 1 year old nephew. He has an older brother and a reliable stream of hand-me-downs. Plus he's just getting to be big enough to show particular interests. His mother requested some unspecified Leap Frog item but looking around online, most of the stuff in the 12-24 month age-range gets mixed reviews. The Baby Tad looks like the most appealing Leap Frog toy I've found thus far.

Does anyone have any suggestions, Leap Frog brand or otherwise? The boy in question has pretty intense concentration, has been walking for a month+ already, and is pretty mellow and happy except when he's hungry.

Many thanks in advance.