Am I Bad Father?

Clem_Snide

Every weekend of the football season I part with £4.00 of my hard earned money. It goes to Corals on two five fold accumulators. Have won over £250.00 so far this season.

My soon to be 4 year old daughter is now part of this process. Every Saturday am I read her out a series of teams and she tells me who is going to win. Incedently she insists on picking Charlton and Southend (she likes adventure island) each week!.

This goes on as an additional £1.00 fivefold.

Yesterday she had her first win!!!! £49.00. Watching her charging round the front room waving the notes above her head was priceless. Letting her spend half of it in Smyths toy shop at Charlton saved me a few quid.

Anyway, this afternoon whilst watching the West Ham game she saunters up to me and asks if there is any more football we can bet on this week!!!

Evil father who has corrupted his sweet and innocent nearly 4 year old or just a bit of fun?.

BTW - she has attended a couple of pre-season friendlies and will be at her first "proper game" against Barnsley so if anyone needs any tips....:-)

Rothko

I'm ringing Social services mate! If she can give me a tip for the Barnsley game, that would be great

Mortimerician

It sounds a bit funny, but thinking about it I have no issue with it, do what you like. If she (or you) gets addicted to gambling though I don't expect to hear about how the state should have banned it and put warnings on everything. Personal choice is a good thing, but means taking responsibility for actions.

I picked up a ton on the motorbikes today, yay, though unlike most gamblers I'll admit I lose in the long run.

Stig

Good luck to you. I think the fact that you're asking the question probably suggests you're not a bad parent. As long as you talk to her about it, and that she understands that its just a bit of fun and that in the long run you're more likely to lose than win, there shouldn't be a problem.

Got to be honest though, as a resident of Southend, the amount of times I've seen my kids pumping money into the slots is more than I'd like. More than once I've stood there silently thinking "hope he doesn't win, so that he learns the lesson I've been trying to teach him". But, bugger me, they always pay out just enough to keep them interested.

aliwibble

It's not necessarily a problem - when I was a kid, Grandad used to get us to pick horses for him at Christmas and Easter, and we used to play the penny slots on holiday in the summer. The limit of my gambling now is being in the office lottery syndicate and the odd family trip to Crayford dogs.

The important lesson she needs to learn is that you're only spending what you can afford to lose, and the enjoyment is in the participation - the winning is just a nice bonus that generally doesn't happen very often. As long as a fiver a week isn't breaking your personal bank and you're not chasing your losses, I don't see a problem with it.

Goonerhater

If she keeps picking winners mate ur a good dad If he starts picking lossers blame mum and stop her -------- sorted.

Essex_Al

Just a bit of fun and good luck to her on her little win!

Unfortunately, I have seen the other side of the coin with my 32 year old stepson. His Grandad used to like a gamble on a Saturday (nothing more than he could afford - a few bob here and there). When my stepson turned 18 he used to go with his grandad to the bookies and have a little flutter himself. Over the years I have witnessed gambling take a hold of him. He is now penniless virtually homeless and owes many thousands of pounds (at least £30,000 on credit cards). He also owes his mum and myself quite a tidy sum.

Gambling is good fun if you can control it, but a terrible disease if you can't!