Are your kids too entitled?
As a parent, you’re not alone if you find yourself in shock and awe over all the stuff your kids possess. I mean seriously, would you ever have imagined having that much when you were a kid?
I’m not just talking iPhones and Pixels. Nor am I simply targeting Xboxes, iPads, apps, Wii, and Game Boys. I get that there have been huge technological leaps and stuff happens.
But when you add other stuff to the high tech stuff, it brings clutter to a whole new level.
It’s flatirons and “product” ad nauseam to get hair salon-level straight. It’s prepubescent palate expanders and multi-colored braces to get teeth toothpaste-commercial straight.
It’s Under Armour and Axe for teen boys. And don’t even get me started on lines of lingerie specifically for teenagers.
The spending power of teens
Collectively, teens have the potential to spend nearly $918 million each week, according to a recent study from market research firm Mintel. And teens fuel the trends which stoke the stuff-buying feedback wildfire.
This rant makes me sound very old. But I am ready to assert that with age comes wisdom, and I will own this. No matter how much money you have—or don’t have—kids’ stuff is pretty much out of control.
And even if you don’t agree with everything I’m saying, I bet you can certainly relate to some of it.
The parent’s role
My point? I think a lot about what it all means and whether this kind of stuff feeds into a materialistic focus that’s harmful for future generations.
What do our kids value and why? Are they simply modeling what *we* value? As parents, what’s our role in all this? Is it possible to teach family values but still live in a stuff-and-gatherer society?
Sure there were those parents in the ‘70s who felt that Jordache jeans and Nike High Tops signaled the end of decent civilization as they knew it.
But there’s something about the way kids intensely covet and revere stuff these days that feels different to me.
Am I alone here? I want to know your thoughts.
This post was originally published on Mint.com. © 2013 Beth Kobliner, All Rights Reserved.