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 Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:18 pm
I can't believe how quickly the time has gone eek
My little baby boy is almost 18, and I haven't got a clue what to buy him. crying
legally here in the UK, he is now approaching adulthood, so to us this really is the 'big one'.
He loves his xbox360 and has tons of games etc, but I really want to get him something that is useful to him for the rest of his life and something that he will truly remember.
Any suggestions as to what I should get him would be appreciated right now, as I'm really stuck.
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Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 7:45 pm
Is there a price range you're looking for?
If he's going to college/university and it isn't too much of an expense, a laptop on campus is such a lifesaver. He'd definitely get a LOT of use out of it. If he already has a laptop, a printer would also be a lifesaver. I got a laptop for graduation from high school and in college, I've used it literally every single day for college-related work. Just this past year, my mom got me a printer because the school's are a pain in the butt. (You get a 400 page limit, and there are literally a couple hundred other students looking to use them.) I use that for every paper, notes, and everything else. Or a flash hard drive. This way, his papers and other work are always backed up on something other than his computer and he can take it anywhere with him. I have an 80GB external hard drive / flash drive, and after two years, I've filled up 50GB on it. (Then again, I type up every bit of notes and studying, all my papers, etc.) It's fabulous!
If he's not going to college, I'd say go with something less "ordinary."
If you have a little bit of money saved up, meet with an investor. Have the investor teach you and your son what to look for in stocks and bonds, and let your son choose a stock to invest in. The money you invest will come back with money in the future, and you'll be teaching him a few valuable life lessons.
I hope those are some useful ideas.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 12:58 am
Jillianlily Is there a price range you're looking for? If he's going to college/university and it isn't too much of an expense, a laptop on campus is such a lifesaver. He'd definitely get a LOT of use out of it. If he already has a laptop, a printer would also be a lifesaver. I got a laptop for graduation from high school and in college, I've used it literally every single day for college-related work. Just this past year, my mom got me a printer because the school's are a pain in the butt. (You get a 400 page limit, and there are literally a couple hundred other students looking to use them.) I use that for every paper, notes, and everything else. Or a flash hard drive. This way, his papers and other work are always backed up on something other than his computer and he can take it anywhere with him. I have an 80GB external hard drive / flash drive, and after two years, I've filled up 50GB on it. (Then again, I type up every bit of notes and studying, all my papers, etc.) It's fabulous! If he's not going to college, I'd say go with something less "ordinary." If you have a little bit of money saved up, meet with an investor. Have the investor teach you and your son what to look for in stocks and bonds, and let your son choose a stock to invest in. The money you invest will come back with money in the future, and you'll be teaching him a few valuable life lessons. I hope those are some useful ideas. Thanks Jillianlily for your advice biggrin They are brilliant ideas biggrin , and just the sort of thing I initially wanted to do, but sadly he isn't going to uni and even though I've taught him about investments etc, he just doesn't want to know. His grandad gave him a considerable amount of money for his 16th, and advised him on various investments etc (hence we went through it all with him), and he was told that whatever he had in his bank by the time he was 18, his grandad would double it. guess what he did? Spent the flaming lot in less than a month!!!! evil He bought his xbox360, and a load of games. rolleyes This annoyed me immensely, not just because he'd spent it, but because the money he'd been given had been saved up for 16 years by his late gt grandparents who had died the year before and entrusted the funds to my parents. My son knew this, but still, he thought 'sod it', I'll spend it'! So we're at the point now that he obviously can't handle his money, and has completely ignored our advice, which is why I want to try and do something else for his 18th. (We've got a trust fund that matures for him when he's 21, but ideally that will be for a deposit on his house)
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:32 am
i know what you mean. sweety_honey's oldest daughter his turning 18 this week too but she has no clue about money or even how to take care of herself is she was on her own. they say 18 you're an adult but really youre not. ive only got a minute to talk so gotta make this quick. because he cant handle money, dont give him any. from what im hearing, it seems the only thing he really cares about is his xbox so i think youre gonne be pretty limited. maybe just take him out to a nice dinner and let him pick a game. if he complains, tell him you didnt know what else to do since it seems like hes not interested in anything else. hes at the point where he can still be a kid but needs to understand hes also needs to start growing up and learn what it means live in the real world. im having to do that with amanda right now.
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Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2008 9:39 pm
Heen-san i know what you mean. sweety_honey's oldest daughter his turning 18 this week too but she has no clue about money or even how to take care of herself is she was on her own. they say 18 you're an adult but really youre not. ive only got a minute to talk so gotta make this quick. because he cant handle money, dont give him any. from what im hearing, it seems the only thing he really cares about is his xbox so i think youre gonne be pretty limited. maybe just take him out to a nice dinner and let him pick a game. if he complains, tell him you didnt know what else to do since it seems like hes not interested in anything else. hes at the point where he can still be a kid but needs to understand hes also needs to start growing up and learn what it means live in the real world. im having to do that with amanda right now. I see what you mean and agree absolutely biggrin thanks So Amanda is going to be 18 too biggrin (Sending her birthday wishes). It really is a difficult age isnt it? I suppose things could be worse though, I mean we could be grandparents by now eek When I think of things like that, his lack of monetary responsibility isn't such a big deal and I'm sure once he starts working for his money, he'll soon get a grasp for that too. who knows, he could be the next richard branson if he plays the stock market right. I'm just grateful that he's not into drugs/alcohol like so many of his old school friends are.. I also think over here, kids are forced to grow up far too quickly. Anyway, we're going to take him out for a meal as that was something he did want. Not sure I want to buy him more games since we bought him a load for christmas.. or should I say, he came with me to the 'game' shop, picked out the games and I paid..lol. so much for surprise presents eh? I am really proud of him today though as he phoned for his first job application biggrin And then filled out a postal application too, so at least he's making an effort to accepting responsibility, which is a start.
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Posted: Wed Feb 06, 2008 6:05 am
have you thought about a laptop he could use that in college also if he already doesnt have one!?!
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Posted: Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:56 pm
LexusMum have you thought about a laptop he could use that in college also if he already doesnt have one!?! He's got one already, and he's still unsure about college rolleyes Anyway, problem solved (I hope). We have decided to get him driving lessons. Thanks for all your suggestions, they've helped a great deal (if only for future presents wink )
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Posted: Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:43 pm
Hello, this is my advice. I was remembering when I was 18, thinking I was ontop of the world.. and you know, looking back at it, I didn't know too much. I had a lot of "things" in mu life, but I am so much wiser now having more experience than things.
I think when my boys are 18, I will buy them one of the open ended bus tickets. I think Greyhound has them, and just let them.. GO. As a parent, I will be a basket-case, but what I needed as a kid was to learn what was out there. Good or bad,... It has taught me not to take things for granted. It has taughyt me that I lived in a pretty plush life style as a kid, and there are things out there, people, ... that are neat, scary, beautiful.....
I think experience is a thing you can not put a price tag on, and go let them explore it before they settle down.
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Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 6:58 am
Tita - Aina Hello, this is my advice. I was remembering when I was 18, thinking I was ontop of the world.. and you know, looking back at it, I didn't know too much. I had a lot of "things" in mu life, but I am so much wiser now having more experience than things. I think when my boys are 18, I will buy them one of the open ended bus tickets. I think Greyhound has them, and just let them.. GO. As a parent, I will be a basket-case, but what I needed as a kid was to learn what was out there. Good or bad,... It has taught me not to take things for granted. It has taughyt me that I lived in a pretty plush life style as a kid, and there are things out there, people, ... that are neat, scary, beautiful..... I think experience is a thing you can not put a price tag on, and go let them explore it before they settle down. Great Suggestion biggrin If we lived in the states, then I'd defo have done that, as there is just so much to see and do. We have paid for his driving license and his grandparents are buying him a car, so he'll get to see more of the UK if nothing else for the mo biggrin
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