“I want a waterpark,” says my seven-year-old son.

“You can’t have a waterpark. Nobody has a waterpark.”

“I want you to build a waterpark in our backyard,” says my seven-year-old son.

“You can’t have a waterpark. Nobody has a waterpark. We can go to one, but we can’t have one.”

He is momentarily pacified.

“I need an iPad and you have to get it for me,” demands my nine-year-old.

“No, I don’t have to get you an iPad.” After several volleys back and forth, accompanied by threats of misbehavior, he eventually calms, though not contentedly.

What do I owe my children? This question has been on my mind since I first read about the Morris County teen who moved out of her parents’ house and then sued her parents in order to make them pay for her college tuition, room, board, transportation, and other expenses. She seems to believe that they have to do this.

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