complaining about private school tuition costs to public school parents

[Anonymous]

I don't complain. These are First World Problems.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the degree of complaining. For example, my boss who makes significantly more than i do complains about tuition, the nanny, the vacation house etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it okay if I complain about how expensive Cornell is?

Only if you counterbalance it by noting it's the "safety" ivy and second choice to the SLAC your DC had her heart set on. That will ease the sting.

[Anonymous]

"This seems to be an aggravation for you. I hope you come up with a solution."

Works for any complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"This seems to be an aggravation for you. I hope you come up with a solution."

Works for any complaint.

Well if you're going that far, you may as well just say "I notice that words are coming out of your mouth. I hope they have meaning to you."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"This seems to be an aggravation for you. I hope you come up with a solution."

Works for any complaint.

Well if you're going that far, you may as well just say "I notice that words are coming out of your mouth. I hope they have meaning to you."

I am going to start thinking this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:please just don't do it. And I will try to refrain from complaining about large class sizes, etc. to you.

I think it is similar to "Don't hate me because I am beautiful" or "My tiara is heavy" kind of statements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Having had children in public and private, I've experienced both sides of the coin and listen to all complaints with sympathy.

OP here. I'm sympathetic to both sides, too, really. There is just one woman in our neighborhood whose only topic of conversation is tuition tuition tuition. It's very tedious. I have an easy solution for her, but she's not interested.

Dont you get it? She is not complaining, she wants you to know how much she is spending. You could just say "Wow - that is a lot of money and I wish I was able to send my kids to private school but we could never afford that. You are so LUCKY!!" that will probably shut her up even if you don't mean it.

[Anonymous]

I would just say "I'm so sorry that you can't afford the tuition. I can only imagine how stressful it must be to have overextended your finances." Then recommend your financial planner. I bet she won't complain to you again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would just say "I'm so sorry that you can't afford the tuition. I can only imagine how stressful it must be to have overextended your finances." Then recommend your financial planner. I bet she won't complain to you again.

Very nice.

[Anonymous]

Try to think of it from another point-of-view. The parent complaining may be doing so because she feels she needs to explain why they can't afford other things. For example, everyone is talking about their great summer vacations. Private school parent complains about tuition as a way of saying, "We can't afford to go anywhere because all of our money goes to tuition."

[Anonymous]

Let them eat cake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try to think of it from another point-of-view. The parent complaining may be doing so because she feels she needs to explain why they can't afford other things. For example, everyone is talking about their great summer vacations. Private school parent complains about tuition as a way of saying, "We can't afford to go anywhere because all of our money goes to tuition."

You may well be right. But it still sounds like a humble brag.