Who Should Pay For Phone Chargers?

[RabbitsRock]

DD16 got a new phone a couple of months ago. An Iphone 16. At the moment she pays just £5 a month towards it (with the clear understanding that this will increase when she gets a job). DH & I pay £40 between us. DD gets £25 a week pocket money which she is always complaining isn’t enough. She’s now asking us to shell out £15 for a magnetic ( I think) charger to use in the car on a 4 to 5 hour journey & refusing to buy it herself. She uses Spotify constantly & claims that it drains the battery, so our suggestion of charging her battery fully before we travel might not be enough. DD has mental health issues & her music is a form of therapy. She’s trying to guilt trip us by saying if her phone dies when she’s out & about then she’ll blame us. There’s a festival coming up where we will need to be able to track/contact DD. Tickets already paid for. How would you handle this situation? This sort of thing comes up a lot, with DD believing she shouldn’t have to pay for stuff.

VFM57 it would take too long to explain our situation but DD has had a diagnosis up to a point - it’s complex. And something as simple as who pays for a charger unfortunately can get complex too! But DH & I are trying to implicate normal boundaries.

She sounds a bit spoiled. She has a charger so it's not an essential. It's a new iPhone so the battery should be quite good. If she wants a new charger she should buy it from her own money. That's how you teach her the value of money, not buy giving her money and then agreeing to spend your own money on anything she wants.

Does it do multiple zoomies when fully charged? 😄

I would look at getting a power bank ( which I assume is similar to what she means by a magnetic charger) so she can then make sure the power bank is charged and use that. We have 4 which are for anyone to use. Only rules they need to be put back on charge and in the normal place (fed up of looking for one and none being charged or having to hunt around the house) if she wants anything fancier then she pays for it

It depends newer iPhones are usc not usb cables so older multi split won’t work but you can get newer ones (or a usb to lightening cable)

She's trying to manipulate and guilt trip you into paying for yet another thing for her. She needs to hear the word no more often. She can listen to the radio if she absolutely needs music as "therapy".

I’d provide a whole bunch of the cheap chargers you can buy just for general family use but I wouldn’t be buying a specialist one, with that attitude.

amazon sell converters very cheaply. We got a pack of 4 that we can use with old lightning cable

A power bank would be better. Don't you already have a car charger?

She should pay for it, she’ll need a power bank at a festival if she wants to stay charged, I take 1 or 2 (for the 5 days).

They isn’t only plural.

Agree with the power bank but I would speak to her that if she wants you to buy things that you would expect her to then her pocket money gets reduced and then you will get more of these types of things while she gets £10 - £15 weekly

Amazon sell the chargers that plug into cigarette lighters for around £8. These are the ones that have both usc and usb ports. Otherwise, a dual usb and usb wire will be cheaper if it's the principle of her buying her own item v you buying it.

But, a thorough conversation is definitely needed here. By providing such pocket money, you are enabling her to be dependent on you. She's not motivated to improve her lot. To get a job or consider mental health advice of setting a routine to support herself. This will make it very challenging.

Sometimes tough love is needed, and will make things more difficult in the short term.

It doesn’t work like that.

@RabbitsRock, pick your battles. Chargers are basic supplies. Provide something that will solve her issue, lots of suggestions here. If she wants something different she provides it herself. Or, tell her you’ll pay for the basic solution but if she wants to upgrade you’ll give her the value of the basic solution.

If this is coming off the back of a long list of requests, make a list of what you will pay for and what you expect her pocket money to cover.

i got an iphone 16 last October. I use it a lot but the battery is a lot better than previous. I bought a spare longer charger from amazon for less than £10. I haven’t needed to use my power pack yet.

She’s not acknowledged how much that’s costing you each month! £5 isn’t a great deal towards it. You’ve been more than generous buying the latest phone.

If she wants accessories additional chargers etc she should be paying out of her pocket money.

Her phone would of come with a charger she’s already provided the basics and more by buying her a brand new iphone 16. It’s not a basic charger, it’s an additional different type of charger.

Personally, for £15, I would just buy it. But then I wouldn't have indulged her with one of the newest iPhones or £25 a week. No wonder she sounds like a spoiled brat.

Who is paying for the festival?

LOL. Clearly posting too early in the day. A charger for his car!!!!

Say no.
Don't discuss it further.

£25 a week is clearly enough money.

She has Google, she can figure out if she wants a cheap version or an expensive version.

You are really fucking her up if you let her grow up spoiled and entitled.

If she can’t cash flow it, could you agree to pay and deduct her pocket money over a month?

The festival is just one day.

They’re usbc to usbc now - no more lightning bolts just to confuse things - though it’s a definite improvement

She’s getting £100 a month - she can pay for the special specific charger that she has decided she needs. What is pocket money for if not for non-essential extras like this?
I think either parents pay for stuff like this ad hoc, but the teenager gets less pocket money. Or they get more pocket money like your DD, and pay for stuff like this themselves.

Surely you can manage without satnav? Why can’t you use a road atlas / work out your route beforehand?