Replies to '10/31 "Spoiled and Entitled?"'

Quote From: ricschic

My five yo is the  youngest of four.  He was born when I was 42, and my youngest at the time of his birth was 11. His siblings are a LOT older than he is. I'm able to afford more for him than I could when the others were young. Maybe b/c you had to times everything you bought by three. That's partially the reason. I'm in a better financial position than then, also. I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but I can pay my bills and have a few hundred left over. That's not counting what I set aside for groceries, emergencies, gas...etc. The few hundred is  money to blow. I could save it, true...but I like to buy things. Maybe b/c I couldn't before and now I can. I tend to buy my little one something every time we go shopping. It doesn't matter that it might be a toy from the dollar store. He still gets something. My defense has always been that he's a good boy, and doesn't act like a spoiled brat. Well, I don't like what I saw today. I'm going to do things differently.  I like what another poster suggested about giving an allowance and having them save towards something they want. My son asks for *everything* he sees on the commercials. Time to teach a different lesson. The only thing...in a small town, and even in not so small towns, kids DO have to wear certain brands of clothing..whatever the other kids are wearing. They are ostracized otherwise. I couldn't afford those name brand clothes for the other kids...the had to wear stuff from Wal Mart or KMart. For their birthdays I would buy more expensive clothing..but the generally I couldn't shop there for their clothes. They WERE looked down upon, and made fun of b/c of it. That doesn't speak much for their peers, it's just how things are though. Now that they're out of school, it's interesting to run ito those same kids who are now working at walmart. Things change. But when you're in school, you have to maintain a certain image or risk being cast out. I don't want that for my little boy. When he came home from PRESCHOOL and said that a little boy was making fun of his shoes b/c they weren't Nikes, we went to the shoe store the next day and bought a pair of Nikes. He's worn them twice...but they're there if he chooses to wear them. His favorite are a pair of hiking boots that were bought at Payless. And a light up pair of Arizonas from Penney's. Just goes to show...at this age, name is nothing. But let someone say so, and it becomes very important. Apparently this kids' parent told him that there was something special about Nikes, therefore something special about him for wearing them. I'm not about to let my little boy be made to feel inferior just b/c he isn't wearing the right brand of clothes. Wrong of me? Maybe. I don't know. I'm just going on past experience and what my other kids went through. I'm putting the brakes on the toys, though...tomorrow.....lol..