MikesVikes Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 (edited) Another boy story. That same boy that plays baseball. So my kids have a friend that is almost part of our family. A former neighbor boy that is between the ages of my two boys. Every summer this kid visits his Dad in California and has a job there in construction. Nothing dangerous, they just lay rocks, for rock sidewalks. This summer, my kid is invited to go with him for the summer. He could make $400/wk which is about $395 more than he makes now a week. The friend is a good kid and there wouldn't be any problems with these two getting in trouble for the most part. My boy is in 9th grade and the other one is in 10th right now. Would you let your kid travel across the country for a summer like that? My oldest son (hopefully) will be graduating this year and he'd be bored out of his skull with no little bro around. Edited May 4, 2007 by MikesVikes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cre8tiff Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 (edited) Another boy story. That same boy that plays baseball. So my kids have a friend that is almost part of our family. A former neighbor boy that is between the ages of my two boys. Every summer this kid visits his Dad in California and has a job there in construction. Nothing dangerous, they just lay rocks, for rock sidewalks. This summer, my kid is invited to go with him for the summer. He could make $400/wk which is about $395 more than he makes now a week. The friend is a good kid and there wouldn't be any problems with these two getting in trouble for the most part. My boy is in 9th grade and the other one is in 10th right now. Would you let your kid travel across the country for a summer like that? My oldest son (hopefully) will be graduating this year and he'd be bored out of his skull with no little bro around. You know the kids, great, but do you know the kid's Dad or all the people that work for him? No friggin way. Then again, I'm a overly protective homeschooler. Edited May 4, 2007 by cre8tiff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiefjay Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I'n not so sure about that. Big changes happen from 9th to 10th grade so I would be a bit hesitant to let this happen. I guess it depends on the kids dad and how he is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Ya .....the kids dad is the deal Breaker.......construction work is a blast at that age......ya get in shape, workin outside, and learnin alot of cool stuff......if your kid is a hard worker, it would be great....if he's a slacker he'll have a tough time........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 They wouldn't be working with the kid's Dad. I think that the Dad is actually a doctor. True, I haven't gotten the whole story about the work as we've never even considered having the son go. Yesterday we were getting closer to being sold to the idea than ever before though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I have a really hard time figuring out why you shouldn't let the kid go work if he wants to. That's a nice batch of change he'll be able to put away which he could use for a car soon, etc. Obviously you need to at least talk to the kid's dad but I'd be surprised if the kid is cool as you say and does this every summer that his dad is something to be concerned with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 I have a really hard time figuring out why you shouldn't let the kid go work if he wants to. That's a nice batch of change he'll be able to put away which he could use for a car soon, etc. Obviously you need to at least talk to the kid's dad but I'd be surprised if the kid is cool as you say and does this every summer that his dad is something to be concerned with. The son did mention getting a car with the chunk of change. For me, that's the deal breaker unless he pays for the insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Rock in Cali ........ain't the same as rock......... in the midwest.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted May 4, 2007 Author Share Posted May 4, 2007 Rock in Cali ........ain't the same as rock......... in the midwest.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missoula Griz Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Another boy story. That same boy that plays baseball. So my kids have a friend that is almost part of our family. A former neighbor boy that is between the ages of my two boys. Every summer this kid visits his Dad in California and has a job there in construction. Nothing dangerous, they just lay rocks, for rock sidewalks. This summer, my kid is invited to go with him for the summer. He could make $400/wk which is about $395 more than he makes now a week. The friend is a good kid and there wouldn't be any problems with these two getting in trouble for the most part. My boy is in 9th grade and the other one is in 10th right now. Would you let your kid travel across the country for a summer like that? My oldest son (hopefully) will be graduating this year and he'd be bored out of his skull with no little bro around. No way. Find him a job in your area. Money is not everything. At his age, I was stealing gas from cars, de-pantsing girls at the pool, stealing money from the Jerry Lewis telethon, ect...He needs his dad around to keep him in line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBalla Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I'd just be concerned how the Dad handles his son and thus will keep an eye on your son. I wouldn't be concerned about the construction stuff...more on the possibility of drinking and smoking. Some people let their kids do that stuff and if you don't want your's you might want to get a feel of that. If you trust the guy then why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuke'em ttg Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 on a personal note........my kid's gonna stay with me and have a good time........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSab Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I doubt it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H8tank Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Take a month off and go with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caveman_Nick Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Another boy story. That same boy that plays baseball. So my kids have a friend that is almost part of our family. A former neighbor boy that is between the ages of my two boys. Every summer this kid visits his Dad in California and has a job there in construction. Nothing dangerous, they just lay rocks, for rock sidewalks. This summer, my kid is invited to go with him for the summer. He could make $400/wk which is about $395 more than he makes now a week. The friend is a good kid and there wouldn't be any problems with these two getting in trouble for the most part. My boy is in 9th grade and the other one is in 10th right now. Would you let your kid travel across the country for a summer like that? My oldest son (hopefully) will be graduating this year and he'd be bored out of his skull with no little bro around. Something to chew on... Kid has his first job, and has $400 per week with no parental supervision on how to handle that. At 13ish. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle LawDawg Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I'd have a hard time giving permission to go across country but I do like the idea of spending a summer working construction. I wish I had done that at some point. I'm not the handiest person and could have used the experience for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoopazz Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Nope. I have girls so its a little dicier, but I still wouldn't do it at that age even if boys. Ask yourself how you would feel if god forbid he got hurt on the job and you weren't there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Red Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I wouldn't, no way. 9-10th grader, nope. There is a time and place for going off on your own for a while, it's called college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I don't know. I don't have kids, so I'm not speaking for my own... but a point to ponder for those saying "no way": Would you send your kids to summer camp? I'm assuming you would, or have already sent them. How is this any different? Sure, he won't have "counselor supervision", but will be supervised and is probably old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
detlef Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 I don't know. I don't have kids, so I'm not speaking for my own... but a point to ponder for those saying "no way": Would you send your kids to summer camp? I'm assuming you would, or have already sent them. How is this any different? Sure, he won't have "counselor supervision", but will be supervised and is probably old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. That's pretty much how I see it. Like Darin, I don't have kids, but just don't see it as all that big a deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ursa Majoris Posted May 4, 2007 Share Posted May 4, 2007 Tough call. No need to repeat what's already been said but here's the salient points: Injury - does your insurance cover that area? Parenting - do you know the other kid's parent really well? Supervision - if the other dad is a doctor, who is supervising the construction work? Supervision - what Nick said about having all that cash and no parent around (though I assume the other dad would be in loco parentis, which raises it's own liability questions) Very tough call - on balance, I think No, though I would understand why you might decide Yes. Note - older brother needs to get a job to stave off the boredom of younger brother being away if he does actually go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T_bone65 Posted May 5, 2007 Share Posted May 5, 2007 I don't know. I don't have kids, so I'm not speaking for my own... but a point to ponder for those saying "no way": Would you send your kids to summer camp? I'm assuming you would, or have already sent them. How is this any different? Sure, he won't have "counselor supervision", but will be supervised and is probably old enough to know the difference between right and wrong. You will see when you have kids of your own. I know how I was at that age, and I have told my son on numerous occassions if I ever hear of him doing anything even remotely close to that his ass will be kicked. Do as I say not as I do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikesVikes Posted June 26, 2007 Author Share Posted June 26, 2007 UPDATE - The kid decided not to go to California. If he were there right now, he be sniffin some of this smoke right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spain Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 on a personal note........my kid's gonna stay with me and have a good time........ +1 I wouldnt let him go, but it would be more for my own selfish reasons. I want to have my kids around me all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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