This article popped up on email and struck a nerve right away. I think it's so true and I am just as guilty as anyone. I honestly try not to spoil my kids too much but I definitely do. For example, Josh drove to Asheville at 9:00 at night to get Isaac golf clubs so he could play golf with the guys and we took off to Forest City in the middle of a rain storm to find Eli a blue power wheel he has been wanting. I have to give my kids props though.. neither was was begging or requesting the item at the time we went but point being is we went!
More often than not I say "No"... we don't leave Walmart with an item for the kids on each trip. They don't get excessive birthday presents and we only buy 3 presents for each one at Christmas. I don't want any of my children to think they have to have something everywhere we go. I know that Isaac is going to start paying attention to name brands as junior high approaches but I am thankful so far he hasn't. He wears his cousin's hand me downs a lot, mesh shorts from Walmart, and old college tee-shirts of mine. I have no problem going to buy Eli $5.00 pajamas at Walmart. Am I guilty of overspending.. yes! Have I bought expensive name brand outfits for my kids... yes. Will I buy more??... 'yes'. I struggled on whether to get Eli this power wheel and we have talked about it since Christmas. He has a plasma car and a tricycle which he loves and honestly that is enough. Can he ride 3 vehicles at the same time???.... No! However, when we go to my sister's house he absolutely loves to ride Carter's power wheel John Deere. So yes, we did.. I spoiled him for no apparent reason... it wasn't Christmas or his birthday. I will be honest. Isaac has 2 gameboys,a X-box, an I pod, a Nook.. too much technology for an 11 year old. I think I could do a better job saying "no" more often.
Here is a quote form the article about American culture raising overindulgent kids:
“With the exception of the imperial offspring of the Ming dynasty and the dauphins of pre-Revolutionary France, contemporary American kids may represent the most indulged young people in the history of the world. It’s not just that they’ve been given unprecedented amounts of stuff—clothes, toys, cameras, skis, computers, televisions, cell phones, PlayStations, iPods. (The market for Burberry Baby and other forms of kiddie “couture” has reportedly been growing by ten per cent a year.) They’ve also been granted unprecedented authority.”
http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/06252012are-u-s-kids-the-worlds-most-spoiled-children/?scid=bcToday
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