You Make the Call

If the absent parent is $10,239.00 in arrears with his child support, is not making his payments on a consistent timely basis, is not even attempting to make small payments to the arrears, should he send his child, whom he has had little to no contact with, a cell phone? Keep in mind, that a mobile phone, whether pay-as-you-go or one added to an existing plan, is an ongoing expense. Right? And if you are not currently paying the support needed for your child, does it make any sense to spend money monthly in order for the teen to have a luxury item?

I understand that a lot of teens have cell phones, but how many of them pay for their own, and how many have parents or someone else who have afforded them that privilege? I cannot afford that expense, and Jenn can't either since she is extremely involved at school with band, drivers education, and being an FFA officer. For some reason, she thinks that since her cousin down the street has had one for a long time now (in teen time a year is a long time) and he brother now has a cell phone, she should have one. Ryan lucked out for now. He has a friend who added him to their plan. It may not be the smartest move, and could flop should he not soon get a job.

As a single parent on a limited budget, I tend to watch what we spend money on as closely as possible. A cell for either of them is out of the question. There is no argument when it comes to my owning one since mine is paid for by my oldest daughter and her husband. She used to call me on my home phone and was running up her cell bill. Her husband suggested they combine their services and add me to their plan. This would keep their bill to a minimum and give her unlimited minutes to talk to me. Nice son-in-law!

In my opinion, if my ex-husband cannot pay his child support on a consistent timely basis, he shouldn't be sending gifts that someone else will have to maintain monetarily. A gift such as a watch, book, teddy bear, DVD movie, music CD, or something personal and not too expensive would be appropriate, and this would only seem natural if he were in their lives on a consistent basis. Since he is not, these types of gifts would be empty in value, and the phone would be an inappropriate to say the least.