Single Mom Tells Her Son To Pay Back The $300 She Spent On His Prom Expenses After He Says It Wasn't Much Money
Was it the right time to teach him about the value of money?
Vibe Images | Shutterstock Prom is a rite of passage for many teens, but what was once just a dance in the gym with punch and student-made decorations has morphed into a red-carpet affair. Limos drive high schoolers decked out in designer duds to country clubs and wedding venues for expensive high-end affairs, whether their parents can afford the expenses or not.
One single mom faced this very dilemma. She was willing to wipe out her savings to give her son a good prom experience. Unfortunately, he wasn’t very grateful for her sacrifice. She shared the hurtful experience on Reddit.
A single mom spent almost all of her savings on her son so he could have fun at prom.
“My 17-year-old son informed me a week in advance that he wanted to attend prom at his girlfriend’s school,” she began. “This was a surprise to me because I have always encouraged him to attend school activities and he has always declined. But I was happy to take him shopping and got on it right away.”
“We went to a nice store where he was able to pick out everything he needed and his suit was tailored to fit him,” she continued. “Before making each decision, he would look back at me for a nod of approval before I told him to get whatever he wanted.”
Stephen Fuller | Pexels
This was a big moment for the mom, who has struggled throughout the years. “In that moment, I was proud of myself, as a single mother of three, who had recently faced a health emergency, causing us to lose everything, house, car, job … Everything,” she shared. “I worked hard to not only get back to where I was before, [but] this time I surpassed it. As the oldest, my son often saw me cry and how I struggled so I hoped to be an inspiration for him to work hard and achieve his dreams.”
Still, the prom expenses were a stretch for her. “At the store, the grand total came to a little over $300,” she said. “It blew right through the remainder of my spending budget for the weekend, but again, I was happy to do this for him.”
At first, her son seemed thrilled with his prom purchases until his mom commented on the price.
“When we arrived home, my son bragged to his girlfriend over the phone, and sisters about his outfit and how good they were going to look for prom,” she recounted. “I joked with him about blowing through my budget and having to eat ramen for the weekend.”
That’s when things turned sour. “He quickly snapped back that if $300 hurt me, I needed to reevaluate some things in my life,” she said. “Him and his girlfriend started to laugh.”
After all she had done for her son, this mom decided his behavior was completely unacceptable and took the opportunity to teach him a lesson. “So I asked him if he had $300,” she said. “He said no. I told him that’s okay, he can make payments to me until everything is paid for, since $300 isn’t much to him.”
Of course, her son wasn’t a big fan of this plan. “He quickly changed his tune,” she revealed. “He told me that he was just a kid, so he didn’t have the $300 to give me, however I knew that his father and uncle regularly gave him money averaging around $300 [a] month. He also just started a new job. So I figured it was a good time to teach him to put his money where his mouth is.”
It’s unclear what's fair in this difficult parenting situation.
There is no hard and fast rule on who should pay for prom. It’s really up to each individual family to determine what’s best for them. Scholastic recommends giving kids an allowance that equates to 50 cents to $1 for each year of their age, which certainly wouldn’t be enough to cover $300 prom expenses. However, it sounds like this teen has other sources of income besides just a typical allowance.
digitalskillet | Canva Pro
Then again, forcing a kid to pay a $300 bill, especially when they had no idea they’d be responsible for it beforehand, does sound a little questionable.
Was her son's comment hurtful? Unequivocally, yes. But teens are notoriously a little bit mean. It's hard-wired in their need to establish independence. The fact that he made the thoughtless remark in front of his girlfriend is proof of that. Should Mom let it slide? Probably not, but holding him accountable for the full cost of prom expenses might be a bit much.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
