Anonymous wrote:My 9 year old likes BlueMercury and North Face at Bethesda Row. Trouble for me at $50 every weekend...

This is a troll. Those two things would cost way more than $50.

I have a 9 year old. My 9 year old doesn't even know what Bethesda Row is. Come on.

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP. $65 per week is for eating out with friends, going to the movies and picking up a new toy or something. Seems reasonable to me and in line with her friends. What's your problem?

i suppose she has her owwn smart phone and lap top?

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader and her friends usually eat on Bethesda Row and then go shopping.

I think this is a troll. I live near Bethesda Row & I don't see this.

Anonymous wrote:My 9 year old likes BlueMercury and North Face at Bethesda Row. Trouble for me at $50 every weekend...

You are the parent. You can say no. It won't hurt them.

My 9 year old likes BlueMercury and North Face at Bethesda Row. Trouble for me at $50 every weekend...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 5th grader and her friends usually eat on Bethesda Row and then go shopping.

Shopping for what?

They are 11 years old. what are they shopping for on Bethesda Row?

+1000. My 11 year old is getting froyo *with me* on Bethesda Row, not hitting the shops with my credit card and cash.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a BFES mom of a 5th grader. I usually give her $40 to use every weekend for toys and shopping at Montgomery Mall. It's not that much. Are others giving more?

That's a lot. My 4th grader gets $7/week, but has to put money in savings and give some to charity. And every weekend? Is this the norm over there in the churchill cluster? Feeds into the stereotype of the spoiled kids.

Mom of a 6th grader in the Whitman cluster here -- $40 EVERY WEEKEND? Is this a troll? My kid does chores in exchange for an allowance (that is pegged to the number of chores accomplished weekly, usually no more than $7-10, and sometimes less). She can spend THAT money for toys and other wanna-haves, but mostly she saves it. I will occasionally pay for outings with friends, but it is not weekly, and probably wouldn't total $40 unless it's something special like a day at the amusement park. I agree with others that what the PP describes above sounds excessive. Glad my kid hangs out with a more low-key crowd.

Anonymous wrote:OP really no need to worry. The school is about 1/3 Asian, can't be super rich.

What does that mean? That Asians around here aren't super rich?

OP really no need to worry. The school is about 1/3 Asian, can't be super rich.

There are several trolls on this thread.

We feed into Hoover. Many upper elementary kids go to Club Friday at Potomac Community Center. The cost is something like $85 for the program, which runs October-March.

Otherwise, most of the more affluent kids spend their weekends being shuttled from birthday party to soccer game to birthday party again. Maybe some religious education. I don't see them shopping as a hobby.

There is a range of wealth in the area, and after paying their mortgages, many families have what most parts of the country would consider a middle class lifestyle, even if their income is technically well above the median.

The kids all want the latest electronics, just like they do everywhere. Some get them, some don't, just like everywhere else.

For every $900 birthday party my older child has attended, she has gone to two low-key, slumber party-type parties. Not everyone is bleeding money. (Some are, what I can I say. We don't, though.)

21:18, you condescending b****

Oh you poor dear in the WJ cluster.

Signed,
Whitman Mom Quietly Laughing at this

Anonymous wrote:My DD and a bunch of her friends in 5th grade get mani/pedis every week and then out to lunch, usually with a mom. I give her $75 for that.

Are you for real? My 10th grader gets a mother/daughter mani/pedi with me like 2-3x a year. The rest of the time she and her friends take turns painting each other's nails. Then again, we live in the WJ cluster.

Anonymous wrote:

If your kid is not bright and/or hardworking, you needs are better served in a private school. By and large - all MCPS schools offer the same resources. The difference comes when affluent parents get their kids outside help - coaching, tutoring, enrichment - outside the school.

I'm giggling at the idea that private school is for kids who are not bright and/or not hardworking. I wonder how that would go over on the private school forum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Seriously, who cares? If you are not rich enough and your kid will feel bad or not fit in, then don't go.

If you and your kid are self assured and confident and do not care about superficial things and will not feel the need to keep up - go to churchill.

I would rather buy a house I like and can afford, and neighborhood that is pleasant, friendly and safe. Schools work out - one way or the other.

We have a nice house and not great schools. So my kids went to magnet schools. AND because we did not buy our house in Bethesda/ Potomac - we are able to provide great vacations and trips for our kids.

If your kid is bright and hardworking they will do in any school.

You know, I know this isn't the point of this thread, but it drives me nuts when people say that if your kid is bright and hardworking they'll do well in any school. What if your child ISN'T bright or ISN'T hardworking or both? Some of us need extra help for our kids in the form of the actual school b/c we don't have the resources for extra help.

If your kid is not bright and/or hardworking, you needs are better served in a private school. By and large - all MCPS schools offer the same resources. The difference comes when affluent parents get their kids outside help - coaching, tutoring, enrichment - outside the school.