# What's the worst that can happen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 23, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332 "2013-07-23T22:11:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332/21 "2013-07-24T22:41:46Z")
After reading some of your other threads, it’s no wonder your children are a mess. Your life is a mess. You are a mess. Children don’t do what you _say_, they do what you live. If you want to help them, help yourself first and be an example to them. Get it together, lady. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332/22 "2013-07-24T23:45:34Z")
> [@want2befree](#): > > Thanks for your answers. I am seeing a counselor, along with her. I have to presume when you say to take it away and tell her to pay for it, you mean that if she does not have income then tough cookies. She does not have an income, so taking her phone away would mean she would not have her phone. Sadly, I just feel like it is her lifeline and yanking it away would be so extreme. I just don’t know if I could brave her wrath, plus I’d feel sorry for her. I know, I am twisted. That’s why I come here, to hear “sane” answers. Whether a teen wants to admit it or not, a cell phone is not a vital organ and humanity coped for millennia without them. She can too, in the short term, until she can either pay her own way like the adult she legally is or she can adjust her attitude to show proper respect/courtesy toward the person paying the bill. ---
**Author:** ![SpeedwayRyan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@SpeedwayRyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpeedwayRyan)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332/23 "2013-07-25T16:43:34Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > She’ll contract a couple of STDs and give birth to babbies who have to go through withdrawal in the maternity ward nursery. How is babby formed? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332/24 "2013-07-25T17:07:26Z")
> [@SpeedwayRyan](#): > > How is babby formed? Speedway, I’m glad you asked. When a heroin addicted prostitute and a john love each other very much, and have agreed on a price, they have a very special way of hugging… ---
**Author:** ![Wallet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e99b99/32.png) [@Wallet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallet)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332/25 "2013-07-26T18:35:47Z")
> [@want2befree](#): > > I am the mother of an 18 year old and 12 year old and my parenting is inept at best. ☹ > > I suck at discipline and am now reaping what I’ve sown with the 18 year old. I know that it has come to the necessity of taking away her iPhone that I paid/pay for, but I just can’t do it. It’s like in my mind, the whole world will just come crashing down. > > Have you had experience with this? Did the world stop spinning when you took action? What is wrong with me? Why can’t I do this?? Serious advice, not snark or opinions from parents of toddlers: Call your provider, tell them you want to put your daughter’s phone on “vacation” mode. Still costs a few bucks monthly, but cheaper than breaking the contract. You can always reinstate it later. Buy her a Trac phone - not the smart version, just an old fashioned flip style. Ours cost $15 on sale at local drugstore. Buy a phone card - I think it’s $30 for 200 minutes. Every 3 text messages count as one minute’s usage. Decide how long you want the minutes to last her - tell her you’ll replenish the minutes every **x** weeks (my advice, 4 or more weeks) I wanted my teen to have a phone so they could be contacted by me, or they could call if they had a problem. I’ve been in your shoes, and this was the best solution for us after the smart phone was taken away/suspended. I haven’t read any of your other threads, but I really do wish you the best of luck. ---
**Author:** ![want2befree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@want2befree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/want2befree)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332/26 "2013-07-26T23:10:41Z")
Awww, thanks Wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2013, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332/27 "2013-07-27T02:32:34Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > Its just a phone, tell her she can make calls at a phone booth or when she gets home to a landline Or a cheap prepaid “dumb” phone. Tell her you’ll give her a 10 dollar a month allowance for that. Anything beyond that, is on her nickel. I have a friend whose daughter is abusive with her phone as well and I’m stunned that she hasn’t taken it away. I don’t know what makes you think you need to take the phone away. Is she dealing drugs? Refusing to abide by household rules? Whatever, if you take the phone away (or just disconnect it from your plan) and she has a meltdown over it, so be it. I know it’s easy for me to say that, obviously I do NOT know what your situation is. Hopefully the counselor can help you with the issues at hand. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-worst-that-can-happen/664332.md?page=1)