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Message: [QUOTE="Patman, post: 255980, member: 16962"] Since I've been on both sides of all these fences here's my $0.02 (collect enough and you'll have some spending money :D ) Dad hooked me and my brother up with our (shared) first bike and helmet. Any additional gear was up to us to generate the money and purchase. My brother lost interest soon because he is like a few that I see in this thread and expected support because he wanted it, when it didn't happen that way it was off to easier pickins. The sad part is that this trend continues with him to this day and he is 35. I on the other hand got a paper route and busted my tail doing chores at home to affort the things I "needed". If I couldn't get a ride to where I was riding I [b]PUSHED[/b] my bike there if I wanted to go bad enough! Now I have a son. He is a 2nd degree black belt in TaeKwonDo and I have gladly paid every penny for classes, equipment, testing and tournaments. He has learned many things from his trainning and he enjoys it. We now live 35 miles from where he takes his classes so there is a big commitment of mom & dad time and resources to get him there. In exchange he does his homework in either truck and is very focused when he's there. He also started playing soccer this past year and is excelling to where he now has regular rec league and advanced select leage practices and the games start in a couple weeks again. He really enjoys playing and he knows that his school work comes first and if he misbehaves at school or home he doesn't play. Well it just so happens he is also afflicted with the dirtbike gene like I am. Currently I buy the bikes and every piece of gear I can put on him for protection. This will change. When he is able to work (besides the chores he gets an allowance for each week) then he will be expected to pay for a reasonable part of whatever his distractions are. I will still support the positive things he does and be a part of anything he does but the minute he EXPECTS it? Well that's the day I have more funds for my distractions. Not all parents are going to be in to dirtbikes kids, that's just the way it is. Don't let it kill your dream maybe just put it on a back burner for a little while until YOU can do something about it besides complain and expect your parents to do what you want. You see parents are people too and if you treat them like YOU expect to be treated you might be suprised. I'm not talking about once in a while either it's got to be a permenant change, trust me I know because I was a kid and now I'm a dad.:D [/QUOTE]

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