Momservation: If I wanted my kids to like me all the time, I wouldn’t be their parent.
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I’m excited! Hubby and I are officially in the You’re So Unfair! Everyone Else is Doing It Club!
I know many of you have probably long been inducted into this club by your preteen or teen regarding Snap Chat accounts, going to parties with no parents, and riding in cars with a new driver before a year. But, amazingly, it took us until our kids were 16 and 17 to reach this level of contempt.
And why are we such horrible, awful, unfair, out of touch parents? Because we won’t let our kids Uber—specifically to parties and with no set plan for the evening.
Call us old fashioned, but we’re just not keen on paying a total stranger to drive off with our teenage daughter.
Trust me, during more than a few standoffs we’ve heard all benefits of Uber and how everyone else has no problem letting their kids play Driving Miss Daisy with Mommy and Daddy’s credit card.
But before we take this to the Court of Public Opinion, let’s review some of the arguments that have been debated in the Wheeler house:
Argument:
“We want to Uber because we can’t drive past 11 p.m. for the first year of our license.”
Counter argument:
“Suddenly you care about what’s legal after driving your friend around all day on a provisional license?”
True Translation:
“I’m planning on breaking curfew and don’t want to get a ticket also while I’m at it.”
Argument:
“We all want to go to the party together and not have to drive by ourselves.”
Counter Argument:
“You can’t all park and walk into the party together?”
True Translation:
“Nobody wants to drive to the party because there might be a few vodka Gatorades going around.”
Argument:
“We have a ride there but we don’t have a ride home and we don’t want to wake you to come and get us.”
Counter Argument:
“Has this ever stopped you before as your personal chauffer for the last 16 years?”
True Translation:
“We don’t want any parents to pick us up because then they’ll know we’ve been drinking or smoking pot.”
Argument:
“We’re not sure of what we’re doing yet but I do know the group I want to go with is Ubering.”
Counter Argument:
“Sounds like you need to make a plan and find a different group.”
True Translation:
“We don’t want to tell you our real plan because we know you’ll say no and Ubering is the best way to get away with it.”
Here’s the deal: I’m not knocking anyone’s parenting if you let your kids use your Uber account or set one up for them. Everyone has their reasons. I know for some of my friends, they’re trying to be realistic about the pressures of underage drinking. Don’t ask, don’t tell, just take Uber and get home safe. Some are tired of being chauffeurs or they don’t have enough cars for all the drivers, or because of the expense of car ownership.
Maybe, like accepting social media as the modern form of communication for teens, Uber is a modern convenience for getting around.
But I’m just not there yet. My kids have cars. We even pay for their gas and insurance. So why am I going to pay someone else to drive you around when you have this privilege?
I know, we’re just so unfair.
#ShouldTeensUber #TakeAStand #LetItGo