Contract for a 4 year old

[not2cleverRed]

I just don't think signing a child up for karate should involve legal council. What are we supposed to tell a 4 year old? Are you sure you want to do this because if you quit mommy and daddy have to pay, a lot of money frankly, for you not to go for 2 months. We were happy to sacrifice for our son but we really can't afford to pay for him when he is not going. It doesn't make sense to pay for no service.

Why not? What's wrong with telling a kid that things cost money, and you have finite money? Frankly, I *did* have conversations like that with my 4 year old. Perhaps it's my Puritanical roots showing, but there's nothing wrong with introducing kids to the reality that they're bound by.

While you are correct that your 4 year old could not enter into a contract, the 4 year *didn't* sign the contract - you did.

You didn't have to do what the 4 year old wanted. My favorite phrase when my child was 4 was, "I'll think about it." You could have looked at another studio with different policies. You could have signed him up for something like Soccer Squirts. (I don't know what the TX equivalent would be. It's a program in the northeast where the little kids learn soccer skills through fun activities, no teams/uniforms, no away games.)

I have also found that even with a contract, there can be wiggle room. A business can choose to enforce its contract, or choose not to. They don't *have* to collect that money, even though they have a legal right to demand it. Apparently they either don't like you enough or don't feel sorry for you or they're just generally heartless sticklers.

It doesn't make sense to sign contracts without determining how long you'll have t o pay.

Have other former karate parents had similar complaints about this studio?

 

[xylene]

Isn't your kid 6 now...

I'm not so sure that a 2 month cancelation fee is unreasonable or not, but it certainly is quite legal to contract for that.

You can always try to settle on one month.

 

[quincy]

When my two oldest daughters were younger, we signed them up for ballet classes - mostly because all their little friends were signing up for ballet.

The investment included not only the classes but also ballet shoes, leotards, tutus, special outfits for the class-end recital, professional photographs ... and my daughters BOTH hated ballet starting on day one. It was clear they would never be ballerinas even if they liked it, no matter how much instruction they had.

But we all stuck it out because we had a contractual obligation to do so and the ballet teacher counted on a full class.

On the night of the recital, my one daughter amused everyone in the audience by constantly going in a direction that was opposite all of the other little dancers. My other daughter had to go to the bathroom right before the performance and missed it entirely.

Tap dance classes (yes, we didn't learn anything from ballet) were no better ... although our dogs found that tap shoes make great chew toys so there was that one positive.

At any rate, as a parent you can spend money on your children that too late you discover probably could have been put to better use. But lessons can be learned by both children and parents when signing a contract that commits you legally to its terms. Contracts are legal promises you keep - or you suffer the penalties for not abiding by the terms.

You can have an attorney in your area review the terms but do not be surprised to find that the law favors the karate studio.