I kind of agree. That’s why I don’t let my kids buy stuff like that. My kid said he wanted to buy a phone, and when I told him it would be subject to our same computer policy (<2hrs/day, they earn time by reading, etc), he suddenly wasn’t as interested.

But yes, if you create a bunch of new rules after they buy something, you’re a dick. Let them know what the rules will be before they save up for it.

Read the article. Her mom agreed to it, and they set rules. It’s after that that it went bad.

And if she bought crack with her own money, she should be free to use that, too.

The child from the article got the phone in sixth grade. If she bought a large bag of candy with her own money is it right to let her eat as much as she wants without boundaries?

Setting healthy boundaries and discipline at a young age is a good move. From how she was behaving with the phone I would have done the same.