Broken Zune Dilemma

28 Responses for "Broken Zune Dilemma"

1. Jaxim January 28th, 2008 at 2:50 pm 1

   You could have her work for it.

   Have her do "extra" chores around the house (extra from the ones that she is already responsible for.) When she finishes an extra chore, she can earn X amount of Leckness Dollars.  (For example, folding the laundry = "$7 Leckness", painting a room = "$15 Leckness", etc.)

   When she has enough Leckness Dollars to equal a new Zune, then you can buy the new Zune for her.

   Plus, if she wants to, she can buy Leckness Dollars with American Dollars. Since she has $60, she can buy $60 worth of Leckness Dollars.

   (Feel free to name the Leckness Dollars something else

2. Xerosis January 28th, 2008 at 2:53 pm 2

   I think you should make her do housework/chores to "pay" for it, and give it to her when you think she deserves it.

3. wetworker January 28th, 2008 at 3:05 pm 3

   I’m sure it was an accident, plus she must have been terrified to tell you about it.

   I say get her the zune, plus she did say she would give you $60 towards the new zune.

   Just tell her in the future stuff like this should be reported immediately.

4. Vuurflits January 28th, 2008 at 3:13 pm 4

   i totally dig the idea above, but i suggest changing the whole dollar thing into points (taking the focus off monney, but focus  it on work to be done) she’ll be able to monitor her progress with these points

5. Susan January 28th, 2008 at 3:25 pm 5

   My 2 cents worth…. Here’s what I would do

   Take her out to lunch (so it is just the two of you) and mid-meal ask what REALLY happened to the Zune. See what she says. (I wouldn’t think a little water would damage it…but a drop in the tub might…and I am not willing to do any testing).

   1) If she sticks with the "I don’t know" or "a little water"…let her work toward paying it off ….. with chores…(she could always get a "coupon for a dollar amount" for Valentines day too)…to help pay for it. It would teach her to take better care of her things…and learn that they won’t always be immediately replaced….just because that is what she wants.

   2) If she admits that it fell in the tub…but was afraid to say…. but is finally admitting to "the truth"….. take the $60 and tell her the truth pays off the balance….this time… and give her the "I am here for you" and "the truth gets more from me than a lie would" speeches (all parents know those)….but let her know the NEXT one will cost full price

   My kids have broken things (mostly MY stuff)….and they have learned to "tell Mom first and fast"…and there might not be a punishment…but if you lie or wait too long to tell….it could be ugly!!

6. kaseyart January 28th, 2008 at 4:15 pm 6

   I have to agree with Susan.  I like those ideas.  My father was big on me paying for my own things if I could because I would respect them more.  This will give her the chance to tell the truth and also learn respect for her things.

7. Xerosis January 28th, 2008 at 5:17 pm 7

   Yeah…Susan’s idea definately wins…

8. adamross55 January 28th, 2008 at 5:18 pm 8

   Well chris i kinda think you should combine Susan’s and Jaxim’s ideas. I know kids will sometimes destroy perfectly good devices because they want the newest one or a different color and they think mom and dad will get it for them. Do you have any idea why she would destroy a perfectly good zune? My guess is she wanted green to start with because she had a green ipod nano. But ask her for the truth and tell her you wont be mad at her and make her promise that she is telling the truth and take her $60 and give her the zune.

9. karl casper January 28th, 2008 at 5:52 pm 9

   i say let her save up for it herself without any help so she will take extra care of it if she has to work for it

10. edge0 January 28th, 2008 at 6:04 pm 10

    you definitely can’t just give it to her, b/c that won’t teach her anything…

    when i was a kid something similar happened to me…my parent’s took what money i saved, and paid the difference. But, they made me pay them back a little at a time. A few dollars here, a few dollars there. Not sure if that’s the best route to take, but it worked in my case. It was sort of a way that eased me into responsibility.

11. Soccerfreak24 January 28th, 2008 at 6:12 pm 11

     I’d make her save to at least half before you give it to her(75 dollars) Then make sure to give her the "responsibility talk" and mention how if she loses it again, your not giving her any slack. This worked for me… I Lost my graphing calculator after about a week of 8th grade, and now take super care of my new one.. have had it for about 2 years.

12. adamross55 January 28th, 2008 at 6:16 pm 12

    Well once my friend was using my cell phone and decided she didnt like it and that i needed a new one so she threw it in the pool. I never really did tell my mom what happened cause i didnt want my friend to get in trouble. Maybe the same thing could be happening here. Maybe.

13. edge0 January 28th, 2008 at 6:24 pm 13

    haha…good try adam

14. Xerosis January 28th, 2008 at 6:46 pm 14

    Yo Adam, if someone threw my phone in the pool I’d punch them in the face.

15. drea January 28th, 2008 at 6:57 pm 15

    If the Zune was recently purchased, isn’t the warranty still on? Maybe you can send it in and have them look at it instead of going to buy a new one right away?

16. Xerosis January 28th, 2008 at 7:19 pm 16

    ^ Warranty covers natural hardware failures…not throwing it in the tub…

17. dcalvaneso January 28th, 2008 at 7:23 pm 17

    I like Susan’s idea, but I think I’d let her sweat it just a *little* bit. If it were me (and it wouldn’t be since I don’t have children, but if it were…) my main concern would be that she not get the idea that just because mommy is a gadget enthusiast that something like a new Zune is an easy thing to come by or that her problems will always be immediately be solved for her.

    She didn’t trash a Zune just because she wanted one in a different colour, did she?

    I think I would help her out. Children shouldn’t have to go without music.

18. rock4christ January 28th, 2008 at 9:52 pm 18

    I would ask her for the truth, try to get it replaced by Microsoft, then either accept the 60 or say "i’ll meet you 1/2 way" and ask for 75

19. ACE January 28th, 2008 at 10:00 pm 19

    I would give her the iPod back as punishment…lol!

    No, give her the green one, but sit her down and tell her that she’ll have to be real good with this one, or then she’ll be stuck with her old iPood….lol…I dunno……:P

20. adamross55 January 28th, 2008 at 10:46 pm 20

    xerosis: I would hit them 2 but it was a girl and i couldnt hit her.

21. adamross55 January 28th, 2008 at 10:58 pm 21

    haha ace thats funny. That would be a good punishment.

22. jenny January 28th, 2008 at 11:33 pm 22

    If she’s a good girl that’s usually good at taking care of her things, just have it replaced. If she has it broken again you shouldn’t replace it. Don’t encourage instant gratification

23. geobotszune January 29th, 2008 at 7:37 pm 23

    I say go out and by one of those $20 specials and tell her that is what she gets for not taking proper care of it. A week later give her the other she will be much more receptive after a week of embarrasment.

24. azaas January 30th, 2008 at 1:54 am 24

    If that was an accident you should ease up a bit and get her a new one,letting her keep her 60$.I mean if generally she takes care of her things and already knows about responsibility,having her to either work or take her money in order to give her a new one,imo,won’t add anything to her perception of responsibility.
    If,on  the other hand,doesn’t take care of her things and seems to have no clue about responsibility,you should not only take her 60 bucks in order to get her a new one but also have her to do some extra work in order to get it.For example help her mom with house stuff.Or help you organize your garage [that's what i had to do when i dropped my sega console to get my dad to get me a new one hahaha].Maybe you should even consider a full denial in getting her a new one,telling her that she will get a new one for her birthday [example] and not anytime sooner than that.

    Choose your acts wisely man,cause the last thing you wanna do is end up with a spoiled daughter.I know from personal experience what this is like [Kirsten is extremely spoiled and the way she DEMANDS things from her parents can be really annoying even to me] and it’s the last thing you wanna turn your child to.

    Let us know what you did.I’m really interested to see how you handled things.

25. Heatwave316 January 30th, 2008 at 8:08 am 25

    For some reason, I can’t seem to log-in at work. 

    Anyway, I would say ask her what really happened to her Zune, and tell her no matter what, you won’t be mad.  The fact that she has been saving money to help pay for shows the 1st step in responsibility.  A lot of kids would just ask for a new one.  If it truly was an accident, like she just dropped it outside or something like that, then get her a new one.  If its due to carelessness, then take her $60 and have her work off the rest around the house.

26. hmg_guy January 30th, 2008 at 12:40 pm 26

    Yeah i like Susans ideal very well thought out.

27. richardcreque February 1st, 2008 at 1:53 pm 27

    I’d say it’d be smart to let her suffer for maybe 2 or 3 weeks, more depending on your judgement, and then after she has really learned her lesson on being careful with her things take her $60 and get her a new Zune.
    Mayhaps getting her the wrong color, or an iPod instead, would help teach her the lesson ;).

28. adamross55 February 1st, 2008 at 5:21 pm 28

    So chris what did u end up doing with the zune? did u give it to her yet?