My son is probably a typical teenager, a product of our times - he has everything we can afford to give him and sometimes more. He and his father are big into 4-wheelers and snowmobiles. Alex got his first 4-wheeler as a 1 year old for Christmas, it was a battery powered one that he learned to drive in our living room by bouncing it off the furniture...he quickly learned how to stop and how to turn it. He has gone onto various sizes of machines, growing along with them. He got his 4-wheeling licence at 14, just got his temporary drivers licence and his snowmobile licence. We figure if he has the machines he might as well be able to drive them, legally, but he thinks having his licence implies that he can drive whenever he wishes - which is pretty well all the time. His friends all have bikes and snowmobiles as well so they are always heading out somewhere. I love that my son has lots of friends and that they are active and having fun, being kids - teenagers - and that they are doing these sorts of things instead of getting into trouble. They hang out at each other's homes watching movies or playing video games, drinking the occasional beer...teenage stuff.
The bottom line is that we can not continue to finance his lifestyle. If he wants to go 4-wheeling and snowmobiling and eating occasionally at the restaurant then he needs to get a job, he needs to make his own money so he can make his own way in life and making his own way in life means eventually leaving home.
I saw my little boy today...the little boy he was at 3 or 5 or 8...not the young man he is becoming, I miss seeing my little boy.
