Children and pricey items

[ShoppeGirl]

I don't think it's a good idea for kids to have really expensive things because their spending may get out of control once they're adults. Considering that our personal limits for spending get higher as we grow older, imagine what the spending limit for a teenage girl whose used to have LV bags would be once she hits her 30s. All I can say, let's hope she has a huge trust fund or becomes an investment banker!!

 

[Eskimo]

let me just warn you, that my parents, especially my mom, loved to spoil me. and now i'm 16, and my taste has gotten a lot more expensive. my favorite brands are things such as marc jacobs and chloe (marc jacobs for clothing, and chloe more so for handbags and accesories). and as bratty as it sounds, i expect this sort of stuff now. i have my own platinum credit card, and have grown to charge pretty much everything.

i'm not saying that spoiling your kids is necessarily bad, because i am a pretty down to earth person, at least in my opnion. but i do realize that i can be pretty materialistic too. so i'm just letting you know that treating your kids this way can get both expensive and annoying.

 

[tln]

let me just warn you, that my parents, especially my mom, loved to spoil me. and now i'm 16, and my taste has gotten a lot more expensive. my favorite brands are things such as marc jacobs and chloe (marc jacobs for clothing, and chloe more so for handbags and accesories). and as bratty as it sounds, i expect this sort of stuff now. i have my own platinum credit card, and have grown to charge pretty much everything.

i'm not saying that spoiling your kids is necessarily bad, because i am a pretty down to earth person, at least in my opnion. but i do realize that i can be pretty materialistic too. so i'm just letting you know that treating your kids this way can get both expensive and annoying.

Honest quote that is probably what you could expect the future to hold.

 

[Becca4277]

No, I would never spoil my kids in that respect. I was 24 when I purchased my first Coach bag. I earned it and appreciated it; same with college. Although my parents could afford to send me, they decided to make me pay for my first semester, and they would pay for the next semester providing I had a certain GPA. Honestly, I had much better grades than friends who parents gave them a free ride.

If you are purchasing luxury items for your children, then what is next? How can you top it? I watch that stupid show "Sweet 16" on MTV and am just disgusted by these parents and the spoiled brats they are raising. The girls are so demanding and just the fact they feel they "deserve" lavish gifts and parties (that cost more than a typical wedding) is sickening.

I admitt that I love to dress my 4 year old daughter in Ralph Lauren, etc. that I purchase on sale or TJ Maxx. However, I make a point of telling my children about how lucky they are and how there are many children out there that have nothing. Everytime my children receive a new toy, I make them pick out an old toy to donate to a local women's shelter.

Everyone has different opinions on this subject; I am not trying to bash anyway. This is just how I feel.

 

[amanda]

let me just warn you, that my parents, especially my mom, loved to spoil me. and now i'm 16, and my taste has gotten a lot more expensive. my favorite brands are things such as marc jacobs and chloe (marc jacobs for clothing, and chloe more so for handbags and accesories). and as bratty as it sounds, i expect this sort of stuff now. i have my own platinum credit card, and have grown to charge pretty much everything.

i'm not saying that spoiling your kids is necessarily bad, because i am a pretty down to earth person, at least in my opnion. but i do realize that i can be pretty materialistic too. so i'm just letting you know that treating your kids this way can get both expensive and annoying.

that was quite candid, i admire your honesty.

 

[ShopRodeo]

Sure, I think it is fine to spoil your kids. I'm only 15 and I openly admit that I'm spoiled and materialistic. But I also think getting a pricey backpack for your very young child is not something I would do if I were you because sometimes he way toss it around or just dump it on the floor...

 

[marspalm]

If you are purchasing luxury items for your children, then what is next? How can you top it? I watch that stupid show "Sweet 16" on MTV and am just disgusted by these parents and the spoiled brats they are raising. The girls are so demanding and just the fact they feel they "deserve" lavish gifts and parties (that cost more than a typical wedding) is sickening.

I admitt that I love to dress my 4 year old daughter in Ralph Lauren, etc. that I purchase on sale or TJ Maxx. However, I make a point of telling my children about how lucky they are and how there are many children out there that have nothing. Everytime my children receive a new toy, I make them pick out an old toy to donate to a local women's shelter.

I completely agree its sweet 16 makes me feel slightly ill at what money and materialistic things do to people. I know that in my family when my mother was growing up they didnt have a lot of money and they had to cut a lot of corners so even now that our family business is large and profitable she still cuts coupons and goes to tj maxx and what not just because she thinks that if she can get it cheaper why shouldnt she? When i was little my family still didnt have a lot of money so i grew up with a similar but less severe mentality but my cousins are a couple years younger then i am and were born when my family started to become wealthy so they are VERY VERY VERY spoiled. My aunt lets them have anything they want no matter what the cost. and they have absolutely no respect for the things they do have. So i don't agree with giving kids things that they can't respect or giving them things before they understand value of both the things and of money itself.

and becca i think its great you make them donate a toy, i do the same thing whenever i buy new clothes or shoes or something i take something to a shelter or the good will...it makes me feel good and less guilty :shame:

 

[amanda]

Sure, I think it is fine to spoil your kids. I'm only 15 and I openly admit that I'm spoiled and materialistic. But I also think getting a pricey backpack for your very young child is not something I would do if I were you because sometimes he way toss it around or just dump it on the floor...

for some reason, i find this post troubling...

 

[ranskimmie]

After my 13yr. old daughter poasted her thread on wanting a D&B purse, seeing all of the honest opinions of everyone was a true wake up call for me. I really think that it should be the childs decission on what he or she would really like to have and then have him/her find a way to earn it. It just seem very reasonable, and teaches a child hard work pays off and will also teach them to respect the item they work so hard for. After Krista read all of the members replies last night, she said: "Mom, I think if I were to save up the $200 it would take to buy the purse I want, I wouldnt want it anymore, thats alot of money and alot of work just for 1 purse!" So it goes to show, I dont think children know the real meaning of the $$ until they have to earn it themselves.

 

[happy1]

My fear of buying expensive/finer items for my daughter is that she would not be successful enough later on, to enjoy the same life style we have provided for her once she is on her own...I don't want to lead her down a path of discontentment.
My daughter is only 18 months old and I'm guilty of spoiling her but as she grows older and becomes more aware of money and what it means, I'm going to have to really scale her back. The kids on "My Sweet 16" scare me.

 

[IntlSet]

The kids on "My Sweet 16" scare me.

I know! My Lord, and aren't the parents embaressed?!!? I mean, I can't imagine my parents putting themselves on TV like that. One day was like, "Wait until you see her wedding!" I guess some people *really* need to prove their wealth.

But hey, no judgment, they probably worked hard for me.....

 

[amanda]

My fear of buying expensive/finer items for my daughter is that she would not be successful enough later on, to enjoy the same life style we have provided for her once she is on her own...I don't want to lead her down a path of discontentment.
My daughter is only 18 months old and I'm guilty of spoiling her but as she grows older and becomes more aware of money and what it means, I'm going to have to really scale her back. The kids on "My Sweet 16" scare me.

it's interesting that you mention the kids that get everything up front being disappointed later, because i've wondered about this before. don't get me wrong, i got a nice new SUV for high school graduation, but there are more than a few kids at my college driving around in brand new Range Rovers, and i always wonder where these kids are going to go from there. i mean, once you've got a car that 99% of people only dream about and you didn't even have to pay for it yourself, what's left? these kids have peaked at 18.

there's no excitement of earning things and really no reason for them to try hard to advance in their careers - mumsy and dadsy have their backs. when you're given everything, and there's little left to earn, i think that's the point at which you turn in to the antichrist:

PARIS HILTON.

so as odd as it sounds, i turned down a Land Rover and BMW from my parents in exchange for something more reasonable (although maybe i'm a hypocrite because it still cost $35,000) because i still wanted to have something to dream of and hope to be able to get for myself one day. i dunno, i'm having a hard time verbalizing my thoughts on this subject.

 

[Mariah]

i think 8 is too young for a backpack worth $400. i'm spoiled myself, not extremely like to the point that i get a credit card and go on shopping sprees or anything but i often get more than my friends. i would never expect my parents to buy me an expensive backpack or tote just for school though. i don't really trust the people at my school and i'm afraid to bring coach totes i got from outlets! a boy on my bus almost got mud all over my light pink tote...

anyways, the kids on my sweet 16 scare me too even though i am a bit envious. the only person that didn't seem like they deserved their party at all was sophie. she was such a b**** to her mother. of course kids don't *deserve* expensive things but they're rich...and mostly they loved their parents. sophie, just pissed me off.

 

[Cristina]

I don't think it's healthy for kids to get into the materialistic stuff so soon.

I agree. I don't believe in spending a lot on children's clothing and having them carry expensive items, because chances are it will get messed up pretty soon. Though you can teach a child to take care of their possessions, they are not going to be as careful with it as a grown person would. I also think that it can create competition amongst their peers. I remember in middle school, Bongo and Guess jeans were big. There were girls who made fun of others who didn't own these brand-name jeans, or whatever was popular at the time. I don't think that's healthy or good for a child.

 

[*JJ*]

i think i wouldn'T buy my kid expensive clothing just because they grow out of it so fast and you have to throw things away then. to me, that's just money down the drain. as for accessories...i don't know...i think it's normal that if you have a lot of money you want to share it with your kids and maybe give them the care free childhood you never had. but it is important to teach the kids from the very beginning that money doesn't grow on trees and that you've worked very hard for it. they should never feel that what they get and how they live is a matter of course and that they deserve the best of everything. i too find it awful how those kids on my sweet 16 say "i only want the best and i deserve it. i want a bmw and i always get what i want...the other kids all wanna be like me....i'm the queen of everything....bla bla bla.
it's terrible how they treat others when handing out the invitations and always emphasize how only the cool, rich and attracitve people will get invited. if i saw my kid on tv talking like that i'd be so embarassed.