Money Moral Dilemma: Who should pay for my daughter's broken phone?

A_Lert

A £100 phone might not be economical to repair. Replacing it with a cheaper new or refurbished phone could be the better choice.

As for who pays, on the one hand there's no claim it was her dad's fault. On the other hand we don't know the general story. Presumably the parents are separated (but they might not be), so is this a father who ducks his financial (and other) responsibilities?

rach_k

If she was being silly with it and that's how it broke, I'd offer a cheap dumb phone for safety purposes (my Y6 daughter has a Nokia 105, which was £18, as they're not allowed smart phones at school), or the same amount of money towards a replacement smart phone and she can pay the extra.  

If it was a simple accident where she did nothing wrong, I'd probably replace it... and make it clear that it'll only happen once.  If I bought something of a high enough value that there would be a question over who would replace it, I would expect it to be me (or if her dad bought her something expensive, I'd expect him to replace it), as I was the one who decided on something of that value in the first place.

SalRead1

Try your your household contents insurance, if you have any? 

gothvixen

I wonder about the nature of the relationship between mum & dad if she wants him to take responsibility for a phone that he didn't break. The daughter and her actions should never be used to cause him inconvenience. She's more than old enough to know about personal responsibility so either she saves up for the repair, or pays something towards the cost with parents paying equal shares and her doing jobs to repay them. You don't want her to learn that her broken items are replaced with no consequences, or that mum will get dad to pay, treating him as a sap. That shapes her view of a husband/father as a source of money rather than someone to be respected, as mum is. 

MalMonroe

Oh dear. I do despair when reading comments such as the ones on here. Hard and cold, some of them are.

I really feel for the poor girl. My own daughter was 9 when her dad left home and went to live with another family, people she didn't know. Nobody here appears to appreciate that when parents separate, some children are absolutely devastated. My own daughter was such a child. She is now in her 40s but has never really come to terms with all the trauma she endured when her dad and I separated all those years ago. At the time I was too upset to pay her proper attention and her dad was too wrapped up in his new family to pay her much attention, either. She suffered as a result. She did, however, grow up to be a responsible, sensitive, caring, intelligent young woman, in spite of us.

This poor girl has broken the phone her mother bought her, while she was at her dad's. She must be absolutely mortified. 

Please don't try to 'sit her down and tell her all about responsibility' or give her lessons in life, etc. I'm sure she is quite well aware.

In that situation, I would expect her dad to replace the phone but as others have said, with a far less expensive one, and with a good sturdy case. In my case, my daughter's dad always had (although now retired) a very high paying job and earned far more than I ever did and would have been happy to do that.  Accidents happen and had that been my daughter she really would have been very upset at having broken something I'd bought her. Of course, it may not have even been this girl's fault. 

But whatever, I'd just be kind.  

hannerrbabes

My question is why didn't you purchase a case and tempered glass screen protectors? It'll set you back less than £10. Keep a couple spare screen protectors handy for when the phone inevitably gets dropped. I've used them with all my smart phones and have never once had to pay to fix a screen. 

Jounrich

Sadly accidents happen and it’s nobody’s fault. Tough life lesson for your daughter but it will help her to value what she’s been given especially if she has to save up to repair the phone.  Next time a case and screen protector would be a good investment.

Gresp

Whoever caused the breakage should take responsibility and pay, regardless of where it happened or who owns the phone.  

The lesson learned should save further mishaps in the future.

confusedgranny

If the father wasn't part of the decision about which phone to buy (if any) he might feel it is not his job to fix it

TheProfessional

Kids break things. She's 11. Mum and dad tell her to be more careful and go 50:50. 

I'm an adult and smashed a £1k phone last week. It happens