Getting a Laptop

[Random Stranger 2]

Right now i am trying to convince my mother to allow me a Laptop of my own. Anyone who thinks i should be allowed a laptop of my own say "i"

[your_adress_here 11]

Tell us why we should be vouching for you to get a laptop.

[BurroDiablo 222]

Since when have mothers been Democracies?

[smstevenms 7]

Originally posted by: your_adress_here Tell us why we should be vouching for you to get a laptop.quote>

 

LOL El Burro. Yes, why do you deserve a laptop of your own, better yet why do you NEED a laptop of your own.

PS: A cheap laptop won't be a good gaming computer, so your mom would have to work many more longer days to get you something in the 1500-2000 range if you're wanting to play games that is. You don't need much for interneting and Worddoc.

[Duke87 1,070]

Hi, random stranger's mother? Get this random stranger a laptop. Because some random guy on the internet said to.

Come on, you can't argue with that logic, can you?

....

Okay, cheerleader style, now!

Gimme an L!

Gimme an A!

Gimme a P!

Gimme a T!

Gimme an O!

Gimme another P!

What's that spell!?

That's right, it spells "ni!"

....and now that I think about it, "laptop" spelled backwards is "pot pal". Hmm....

[Meg 368]

I can not vote on this without more information.

Where are you in terms of your education?  Middle school?  High school?  College?  (or whatever that translates into where you live)

Why do you believe you need a laptop?

A laptop is a privilege, not a right.  Have you earned this privilege?

Are we talking about a laptop with or without an internet connection?

Are we talking about using it with or without parental supervision?

How responsible are you?

What is your maturity level?

Are you planning to work to help offset the cost of the laptop?

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't have one.  I'm just saying that I don't have enough information.

[hamsterTK 93]

How old are you?

where I live you only have to be 15 to work certain part time jobs(like grocery cart pusher) on weekends.

If you work part time like 5.75 an hour on weekends, 8 hours a day or 16 a week, that might be 85 dollars or so a week. So like 10 weeks, or a little over 3 months, you could have up to 850 dollars and buy your own computer.

Since it's summer most places will hire people that age.

[Zelgadis 638]

To add another question to what SkiGeek said:

What do you have now?  Desktop?  Using the family computer?  If you already have your own desktop, I'm afraid I ain't gonna support you here. 

ISF

[Craig-Abcvs 1,595]

Originally posted by: SkiGeek I can not vote on this without more information.

Where are you in terms of your education?  Middle school?  High school?  College?  (or whatever that translates into where you live)

Why do you believe you need a laptop?

A laptop is a privilege, not a right.  Have you earned this privilege?

Are we talking about a laptop with or without an internet connection?

Are we talking about using it with or without parental supervision?

How responsible are you?

What is your maturity level?

Are you planning to work to help offset the cost of the laptop?

I'm not saying you should or shouldn't have one.  I'm just saying that I don't have enough information.

quote>

 

Are Cyber-Mom's elegible to vote in these matters...?  I mean they may be in secret cahoots with your Mom on the SAKAN (See's all Know's all Network).

Duke  ...  Pot pal... there are a few laugh out loud moments on the internet...  that was one of them.

Anyhoo...

Hmm...  so what are we dealing with here...  want or need?

Like... we have just brought a new flat screen 40" TV...  but that was based purely on need...  In fact it was "she who must be obeyed'  aka - my wife, who decreed that we had to buy a new TV...  she is in her mid 40's and was complaining that she could not see the writing on the 21" screen while she was playing Age of Empires on PS2...  of course this is the thin edge of the wedge... next she will be wanting a PS3...  cos now with the larger screen you have to sit further back and the cord on the PS2 controller is no longer long enough, and she will be needing a wireless controller...

[Joesocwork 4]

Would a petition work on me as a parent?  No; and I would say for others to mind their own business as I likewise would not tell them what or what not to get for their children.

[ilikehotdogsalot 307]

LOL. This made my day.

You deserve a laptop just for making this thread.

[Meg 368]

Originally posted by: abcvs

Hmm...  so what are we dealing with here...  want or need?

Like... we have just brought a new flat screen 40" TV...  but that was based purely on need...  In fact it was "she who must be obeyed'  aka - my wife, who decreed that we had to buy a new TV...  she is in her mid 40's and was complaining that she could not see the writing on the 21" screen while she was playing Age of Empires on PS2...  of course this is the thin edge of the wedge... next she will be wanting a PS3...  cos now with the larger screen you have to sit further back and the cord on the PS2 controller is no longer long enough, and she will be needing a wireless controller...quote>

  

hmmm . . . the issue of "need" versus "want" can be sticky.  I would say that no one "needs" a 40" TV but then I think of my 80-something parents with the failing eyes who got one a few years ago.  They rationalized the purchase on the grounds that they "needed" it.

  

Originally posted by: Joesocwork Would a petition work on me as a parent?  No; and I would say for others to mind their own business as I likewise would not tell them what or what not to get for their children.quote>

 

Good point.  A petition signed by a bunch of strangers would normally have little effect.

 

The subtitle of this thread ("This is a Petition to get a Laptop") implies he is going about it in an ineffective way.

 

Looking at his first post, the first sentence makes sense:

 

Originally posted by: Random Stranger

 

Right now i am trying to convince my mother to allow me a Laptop of my own.  quote>

 

Trying to convince your mother of something can be useful way to learn negotiation skills.  I know some parents, including mine, take the approach that what they say is law and there is no point in negotiating.  But, in those cases, how is the child going to learn any negotiation skills?  They can be useful skills to have. 

 

and contrary to what some parents might like to think they may not have thought of all the angles and the child just might have some useful input.   In my personal opinion, children deserve respect as individuals and their parents should hear them out, even if they don't always agree with them.  But I realize I may be in the minority in that view and a lot of parents don't want to hear that.

 

At any rate, it is not effective for the child to take the approach "Yo, Mom, you're wrong".   It can be more effective to take the approach of "I'm trying to figure out how I can do X if I'm also doing Y."

Example:  I'm trying to figure how I can write my paper at the library if I don't have a laptop there to update the paper as I find useful information."  (Yeah, I know, I managed to write all of papers without a laptop since they didn't exist back then.  But then, we also had to walk 3 miles to school in the snow.  Uphill both ways.)  

 

But let's look at his second sentence:

 

 

Anyone who thinks i should be allowed a laptop of my own say "i" quote>

 

As Joe and Duke have both pointed out a petition or vote among random people on the internet will have little effect.  Taking the approach "Mom, most people I know on the internet say I should have a laptop" will be more likely to get your internet privileges revoked than to get you a laptop.

 

Originally posted by: abcvs

Are Cyber-Mom's elegible to vote in these matters...?  I mean they may be in secret cahoots with your Mom on the SAKAN (See's all Know's all Network). quote>

 

I am in cahoots with the SAKAN.    But I'm also giving him some rationale that may or may not work, depending parenting philosophy.

[hym 358]

Originally posted by: abcvs

Hmm...  so what are we dealing with here...  want or need?

Like... we have just brought a new flat screen 40" TV...  but that was based purely on need...  In fact it was "she who must be obeyed'  aka - my wife, who decreed that we had to buy a new TV...  she is in her mid 40's and was complaining that she could not see the writing on the 21" screen while she was playing Age of Empires on PS2...  of course this is the thin edge of the wedge... next she will be wanting a PS3...  cos now with the larger screen you have to sit further back and the cord on the PS2 controller is no longer long enough, and she will be needing a wireless controller...quote>

That brings back memories of freezing my butt off while playing Halo 2 in a tent.

Originally posted by: SkiGeek

  

hmmm . . . the issue of "need" versus "want" can be sticky.  I would say that no one "needs" a 40" TV but then I think of my 80-something parents with the failing eyes who got one a few years ago.  They rationalized the purchase on the grounds that they "needed" it.quote>

Indeed, "needs" are heavily influence by what a person considers important.  I know I need a new laptop and because I want to be able to use it for recreational purposes, I figure it needs to be a rather powerful laptop, hence why I'm looking at $1,500 machines instead of $700 machines that could handle the work necessary for college.  However, the laptop isn't all "needs" either; it comes with a Bluetooth option which I'm getting simply because it's reasonably cheap and I'm tired of having to pull the memory card out of my phone every time I want to transfer files.  (Thought you might appreciate a second example.)

On a different note...

Originally posted by: abcvs

Are Cyber-Mom's elegible to vote in these matters...?  I mean they may be in secret cahoots with your Mom on the SAKAN (See's all Know's all Network). quote>

 

I am in cahoots with the SAKAN.  quote>

"She sees you when you're sleeping, she knows when you're awake..."

[krbe 193]

I do a little fundraiser each day these days. That'll allow me to buy quite a few laptops soon if I want to. Try that.

[Hahayoudied 3]

Give us more information about why you want a laptop.