The thing I fear most about my daughter beginning school (years from now) is not the peer pressure, the 8 hours of homework, or some boy who will likely try to put gum in her hair. Nope, it’s those school fundraisers.
They’re not the same as they were in the old days, when I was kid - once a year selling $1 candy bars to the neighbors, family, and begging the parents to take them to work and peddle them for you to their co-workers so you can win that limo ride to McDonalds for ice cream.
In the school I attended, having your parents do the work was discouraged. They expected us kids to walk the neighborhood for hours, standing in front of grocery stores begging strangers for $1. These days the schools WANT parents to peddle the goods to co-workers, family and unsuspecting neighbors who answer the door. And this tango doesn’t happen once a year, but 4 or 5.
We get hit up by friends (and strangers) at work, in the neighborhood, at the gym, at family events, at the Trader Joe’s, etc. Most of the time, like the suckers we are (and fear of being “one of those people”), we’ll buy the cheapest thing in the catalog - like that $65 paring knife we recently bought, which sucks and got dull after a few uses (also, I'm suspicious of why kids are even allowed to sell knives? Oh yeah - because the cheapest one is $65!!)
I say, if the schools want the money so bad why don’t they just send a ransom note with the kid that says, “Give us $50 or we’ll make your child sell subscriptions to unpopular magazine and dollar-store knives that sell for $600”. I’d respect their honesty and send off a check instead.
But that probably won’t happen. So instead when my kids starts school, I’m going to cash in my karma and hit up all those parents who hit me up for those $40 Fresh Pine Wreaths and $25 bins of cheap nasty-tasting chocolate.
What do you all do? Do you roll with it? Or does the school somehow punish you by egging your SUV, or sewing a scarlet letter on your kid if you don't participate?
BTW- I’ve been nominated for the “Hottest Daddy Blogger” Blogger’s Choice Award by Jenny over at Absolutely Bananas. Vote for me! (If I win, free chicken for everyone!)
