Furious at DS for spending $18 for lunch at field trip today

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So OP, let's say your son went on a typical DC metro area fieod trip to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

The T-Rex platter (cheeseburger and fries) costs $13.25.

Add a drink to it. He tried to be healthier and choose juice because he knows you flip out over soda and fountain drinks.

Minute Maid is $3.60.

So now we are up to $16.85.

Your son knows you aren't a fan of meals of just burgers and fries, so being the good boy he is, he decides to add an apple to his tray.

Fresh fruit at the museum is $1.25.

Which brings your son's food court lunch to a grand total of $18.10.

A cheeseburger. Fries. A bottle of OJ. And an apple.

Think about it OP, then apologize to your son about flipping out over this.

You almost have a valid point, but your armchair psychoanalysis is weird and OP already said her son bought two entrees.

OP hadn't answered when I was typing this. OP is furious and cannot understand how one can spend $18.00 on a food court lunch. It is very easy to do as my post shows.

She is flipping out over something she should not be even a little upset about.

Your bizarre interpretation of the child's thought process is still weird.

Np and no it's not. I could totally see a kid that age thinking that way. The poster was spot on.

If you don't eat out downtown very often, it's easy not to know just how pricey food is there. I am always amazed when I go out to the burbs and see the difference in prices.

The pricing is right. Trying to get inside the head of a kid and giving it that much thought is weird. PP sounds like a nut who sits around staring at children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i just can't believe it. nobody needs an $18 lunch at food court. it is so wasteful. i don't know if it's peer pressure but i hope not. poor, poor judgement no matter what. i was so mad i didn't even want to hear about the trip, or even talking to him...

vent over.

You know what is poor judgment? Your ridiculous reaction. You don't want to hear about his day, or even talk to the poor kid, because you think he spent too much on lunch?? And it isn't like he got 5 twix bars, he got two entrees. What if your spouse treated you that way? Didn't talk to you or treat you like a human being worth acknowledgment because you spent a couple dollars more than s/he deemed appropriate on lunch?

[Anonymous]

$20 for a souvenir AND lunch in this area? That's insane.

Are you one of those parents who only buys their kids clothes and shoes from the thrift store and only if it costs under $5? Or one of those parents who never lets their kids have 'junk food' so anytime they're away from home, they gorge themselves?

Last summer camp program my DD went to, they had a few day trips where they were allowed to buy food at the location or bring a bagged lunch. They specifically put on the permission slip that if your child was going to buy lunch there, at least $25 was recommended. I gave her $40 when they took them to the water park where there are no souvenirs just because I know how pricey food and beverages are there... $3.25 for a bottle of water that gets warm very quickly on a hot day.

Here's what she bought that day for lunch and snacks...

Lunch -
Burger (no fries included) $6.50
Water $3.25

Water $3.25
Fries $4.25

Ice cream $4.75
Water x2 $6.50

Total $28.50

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I used to be a chaperone on many many field trips because I was a SAHM therefore I had nothing better to do Anyway, I can't tell you how many lunches I bought and brought extra just in case for kids that spent their money in the souvenir shop FIRST and had no money left to buy food. They're kids. They are supposed to be stupid.

Next time go on the trip or only give him $10.

One time I sent my GROWN son to the store for bread. I gave him a twenty and he bought $20 worth of bread.

I'll never forget the trip I chaperoned with a new teacher one year. She didn't know the "rule" of making kids visit the gift shop (by the front door) after they'd explored and eaten lunch. When we arrived and she said yes to a kid asking if he could buy his souvenir now, the other parents and I looked at each other like, "oh bleep!" because we knew what would happen come lunch time. Sure enough, the teacher and the parents ended up having to buy at least half the kids some food because they'd blown all their money (and in many cases, their parents really hadn't sent enough for food + gifts).

[Anonymous]

i might've overreacted a bit but i ain't gonna apologize to nobody. we worked so hard on over-spending and over-eating and just as i thought we've made some progress and actually looking forward to him following through them all, he screwed up and disappointed me big time.

yes i work downtown near penn quarters. and yes i offered to pack lunch but he chose to buy. and yes i'm local and school ends today. and yes we go out and buy lunch/dinner together at least a couple times a week. and no this is not at Smithsonian's rip off cafeteria but some lousy food court. and no i don't have 'issues' or need counseling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i might've overreacted a bit but i ain't gonna apologize to nobody. we worked so hard on over-spending and over-eating and just as i thought we've made some progress and actually looking forward to him following through them all, he screwed up and disappointed me big time.

yes i work downtown near penn quarters. and yes i offered to pack lunch but he chose to buy. and yes i'm local and school ends today. and yes we go out and buy lunch/dinner together at least a couple times a week. and no this is not at Smithsonian's rip off cafeteria but some lousy food court. and no i don't have 'issues' or need counseling.

I guess you're just a plain old jerk then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i might've overreacted a bit but i ain't gonna apologize to nobody. we worked so hard on over-spending and over-eating and just as i thought we've made some progress and actually looking forward to him following through them all, he screwed up and disappointed me big time.

yes i work downtown near penn quarters. and yes i offered to pack lunch but he chose to buy. and yes i'm local and school ends today. and yes we go out and buy lunch/dinner together at least a couple times a week. and no this is not at Smithsonian's rip off cafeteria but some lousy food court. and no i don't have 'issues' or need counseling.

OP, if this is all old hat to him, if he knows the rules and just totally screwed up, you can forgive, forget, and move on. Everyone screws up sometimes, and kids are supposed to screw up more than adults. Talk to him about the rest of the field trip, keep working on money, food, etc., and let this one lapse go. Whether he ate all the expensive food or threw half of it away, he's still just a kid. They're not mini-adults, they're not perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i might've overreacted a bit but i ain't gonna apologize to nobody. we worked so hard on over-spending and over-eating and just as i thought we've made some progress and actually looking forward to him following through them all, he screwed up and disappointed me big time.

yes i work downtown near penn quarters. and yes i offered to pack lunch but he chose to buy. and yes i'm local and school ends today. and yes we go out and buy lunch/dinner together at least a couple times a week. and no this is not at Smithsonian's rip off cafeteria but some lousy food court. and no i don't have 'issues' or need counseling.

NP here but if you are this angry (i.e., "furious") about your kid spending money to buy his lunch, maybe you should reconsider counseling recommendation. It doesn't seem normal to me, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i might've overreacted a bit but i ain't gonna apologize to nobody. we worked so hard on over-spending and over-eating and just as i thought we've made some progress and actually looking forward to him following through them all, he screwed up and disappointed me big time.

yes i work downtown near penn quarters. and yes i offered to pack lunch but he chose to buy. and yes i'm local and school ends today. and yes we go out and buy lunch/dinner together at least a couple times a week. and no this is not at Smithsonian's rip off cafeteria but some lousy food court. and no i don't have 'issues' or need counseling.

I've read the whole thread. I guess you're just a bitch, then. I can't even imagine not speaking to my son over this, and I'm pretty cheap too. I once sent him on a field trip with $20 just in case (lunch was provided, it was a hike so I didn't think there would be souvenirs). He came back all happy and chirping about how he bought all of his friends treats. $20 was gone. I waited until the next day to gently discuss that he probably didn't need to buy candy for the whole class. (small class, expensive private school--they all had money).

So in typical DCUM fashion, I'm just going to say that I feel sorry for your son.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, you are a terrible mother. Imagine, he could have come home, told you all about what he did and saw, you could have asked questions, and really engaged and listened to him and had a real conversation. You could have smiled, given him a little squeeze, told him you are glad he had a fun day. When he told you about lunch, you could have rolled your eyes, told him he shouldn't have borrowed money for a souvenir if he spent all his money on lunch, and told him to plan a little better next time.

Instead you made your kid feel like crap and sucked the joy out of his day. He is about to go to middle school. I can just about guarantee that he will start to pull away from you and stop telling you things because he won't want to share anything with you because you will overreact to any minor infraction. Next time he will know to just lie.

My heart hurts for this little boy whose mom won't speak to him because he ate more lunch than he would have liked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:i might've overreacted a bit but i ain't gonna apologize to nobody. we worked so hard on over-spending and over-eating and just as i thought we've made some progress and actually looking forward to him following through them all, he screwed up and disappointed me big time.

yes i work downtown near penn quarters. and yes i offered to pack lunch but he chose to buy. and yes i'm local and school ends today. and yes we go out and buy lunch/dinner together at least a couple times a week. and no this is not at Smithsonian's rip off cafeteria but some lousy food court. and no i don't have 'issues' or need counseling.

You mentioned you are mad because of his over-eating. But he may not be over-eating. Depending on his age, two entrees might be what he needs (these are entrees, not candy bars) if he is growing and had a field trip and is also active in sports, etc.

[Anonymous]

This can't be real right, people? Too hard to believe...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He's 10, almost 11, and in 5th grade. Yes we discussed what to buy and how much it'd cost, and how the $20 was for lunch and souvenir.

Instead he bought junk - burger and hot dog and soda. Another I'm still mad...

1) Stop sucking all of the joy out of the kids life

2) Stop being so controlling & get your own life to lord over!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This can't be real right, people? Too hard to believe...

Well it's not worth this much attention either way

[Anonymous]

OP is such a cock block! DS bought a girl lunch trying to impress her.