Having read the whole of the Chanel sub-forum thread, I have to, respectfully, disagree with this comment.
If anything, it seemed to me, that some of the people who were totally opposed to the idea of a 12 year old being given a Chanel, under any circumstance, were far more blunt in their responses...
Personally, I still really don't know why designer bags are being singled out as such a big deal. After all, many children have thousands (if not tens of thousands) spent on them, during their childhood, on miscellaneous toys and (non-designer) clothes, have no appreciation of their value and make it their apparent goal to lose/ruin all of them! So, why is it considered to be so much worse, when it is a designer bag that runs the risk of being unappreciated/lost/ruined? I know this is a purse forum and I love my bags, but this seems completely illogical, to me.
I also don't understand why a child would not appreciate beautiful, high quality items when they grow up, just because they are given a few of them as a child. Surely, as long as they know what they are and their value, by coming into contact with them, they are actually learning to recognise and appreciate beautiful design and quality. I grew up around high quality things and it nurtured in me an appreciation and a respect that I might not have otherwise had.
Of course, if, as a child is growing up around their parents' designer items and/or when a child is given a designer item, the emphasis is placed purely upon the price tag and the logo (rather than on the quality and the design), then that may very well encourage blind materialism and lack of satisfaction in later life; but that is in no way a given (and would not be a healthy attitude for anyone, at any age, to adopt)!
The logical way to buy for your child, is, surely, to prepare a budget (both for monthly/yearly expenditure and for Christmas/Holiday and Birthday presents) and then, after buying the essentials, with anything that is left over, ask your child what he, or she, wants.
Then, if the child decides that he, or she, wants a designer bag, instead of extra clothes/toys, then really, where's the harm?
The only real potential problem, I can see, with buying an (obviously) expensive item for a child/young person (rather than lots of less expensive items), is if they take it to a dangerous area and it increases their risk of being mugged. But just because a parent allows their child to have a designer bag, it doesn't mean that they won't have the sense to limit where they are allowed to go with it.
^^^
