u/AcanthisittaSlow6565

Question for the moms of driving teenagers. How much money are you giving them per month for gas/food? I'm curious because we give my stepdaughter $250 a month and it seems like it's not enough for her. She also gets money from her mom but definitely knows how to work the system. She is getting food, Starbucks, etc all the time and she's easily spending $400+ a month just from us. My husband says things are just more expensive nowadays which I totally get but I also think that she needs to learn how to budget so that she can be somewhat prepared for the real world. So I'm just trying to get an idea of what the norm is that teenagers are spending these days.

She does have a job. She stopped during softball season because she had practice everyday but she is back working now (started last week). Totally understand how it was for us growing up but really just curious what parents are doing nowadays. I feel like she needs to "suffer" a little (like not be able to get Starbucks or drive up to Del Mar to see her friends) when she's out of money and can't pay for gas. That's how you learn, right? But she's definitely a daddy's girl and I think he has a hard time saying no and always says that "we live in a different time". So I'd love to hear what others give their kids!

Thank you in advance!!

My daughter is 18 months old and VERY attached to me. It was getting too hard to work from home, so we hired a part-time nanny (8–12, four days a week). She started Monday, and the transition has been rough.

Day 1 went surprisingly well. I stayed around for a bit, popped into my office for a short meeting (separate building in the backyard), and my daughter was fine.

Day 2, I tried leaving after about 20 minutes. Huge meltdown. I gave it 10 minutes, but she was completely inconsolable, so I came back in. The rest of the day she wouldn’t leave my side.

Today (day 3), I stayed with them more so my daughter could get comfortable and see the nanny as a safe person. But she still didn’t really want the nanny interacting with her — wouldn’t let her turn pages in books, push her on the swing, etc.

Would love advice from anyone who went through a similar transition around this age. What actually helped? Did staying around make it easier or harder in the long run?

I'll also add that she's in a very clingy phase the last few weeks which definitely doesn't help.