Hey family!

My son and daughter have been extremely spoiled their whole lives. This isnt the problem though, although it may be the genesis of it all. There have been many times that my son has broken things or been threatened with them being taken away and the response has always been “well daddy will just buy me a new one”.

I say all of that to say that he has 0 respect for items whether that be his own or someone else’s. Many times in the past though, i have replaced broken items whether that be his or someone elses.

He is now 8 years old and completely irresponsible. I take blame for this but it has gone too far now.

This morning he swung open a car door HARD into another car causing a visible dent and paint chipping. Luckily, the car that was damaged was my sister’s so I dont run the risk of insurance claims or legal implications.

I’m tired of it though. Enough is finally enough. Yes, I will pay to repair my sisters brand new car but my son needs to understand repercussions for his actions and begin taking responsibility for what he does.

He is entirely unappreciative of everything in life and I really want to have him pay me back for the damages he caused.

This will be a few hundred dollars in repairs easily. We have a large farm with a lot of work to be done. We also have a decent sized house that is routinely a mess with toys strewn all over.

Is this unfair? If not, what price value would you place on repayment? If I give him the suggested $8-10 per week, he will be working for almost a year to repay this.

I think a year may be too long but am open to suggestions like a standard $10/week plus extra pay for additional work around the farm and house.

Please guide me on becoming a better parent.