Back in the time when I was afraid of my child
Back in the time when I couldn’t say no to him
Back in the time when I would do anything for a few minutes peace

I said yes
All the time
To all the things

I said yes to spending real money to buy fake things on the PlayStation

Once I started saying yes it became harder to start saying no
So I continued to say yes

All the while I ignored my budget

He would ask how much he had in savings
I would say, honestly, I don’t know
The lack of knowledge was another reason to say yes
So I continued to say yes

Eventually I crunched the numbers
Found where we each were financially

He had overspent by at least €100

I was so down trodden, so beaten by life
I couldn’t say “You are in debt to me”

But I could say “You are broke
You have spent all you had
There is nothing left”

Now is the time when I delight in being his parent
Now is the time when we can talk openly about everything
Now is the time when time spent with him is a few minutes peace

He told me today that he wants to buy something
That he really wants the something
But also doesn’t want to repeat the PlayStation thing

He doesn’t want to go broke buying fake things with real money

That time was 5 years ago
That lesson held firm

I parent well