I need to vent, so feel free to pass if you don't want to hear me griping.
I am so tired of trying to raise teenagers in a section of town where all of the parents buy their kids every material possession available---like their little darling deserves only the BEST of everything!
I am so tired of trying to explain to our sons why we don't do this too!
An example: At a Fourth of July party, I overheard the mothers of the teenage girls in our neighborhood talking about the things they've bought their daughters for their dorm room. Two of them let their girls pick out a $150 Nautica comforter, the matching sheets (I think that was another $50), $40 pillowcases, and the coordinating throw pillow at Bed, Bath & Beyond.
I thought I was going to go for their throats when I heard them say they had also bought the girls the nice big, fat towels there----and then spent $48 to have them monogrammed.
For a DORM room? Are they crazy?
My husband makes good money, and we don't have bedding and bath things that are that nice! What are they setting these girls up for?
Last night, I talked to our 18-year-old son about this. He agreed with me that it has gotten out of hand. He knows these are the same girls whose parents let them get manicures, pedicures, $150 jeans, etc. I told him I hope he doesn't marry someone like this, or he would be broke trying to make this kind of girl happy! He laughed and said, "Don't worry, Mom!"
Our boys are not neglected by any means, but we have never let them buy things like this. If they thought they HAD to have the most expensive sneakers or jeans, we told them we would pay half---if they paid half. Many times they would pass, saying it wasn't that important to them.
I don't want them to think money grows on trees! I feel like everyone needs to stick to a budget, no matter how much they make.
Oh, this has been so hard trying to teach them this when the teenagers at their high school were given brand new cars when they turned 16. Some were given SUV's and BMW's (some even a BMW SUV! Can you imagine?) And this is at a public high school.
My neighbor's daughter just returned from a week in Florida with another high school girl---whose parents have a YACHT! I could go on and on.... It never stops!
Funny thing is we allowed our son to choose the college he wanted to attend (within reason), and he has decided to go out of state, which of course, is more expensive than in state tuition. These same parents are bashing us, saying they can't believe we would allow that.
They say they can't afford out-of-state tuition. (I guess not. One of them just bought a $50,000 BMW)!!!
I'm sorry but our sons' EDUCATION is more important to my husband and I than any car we could buy for ourselves.
And by the way, we wil pay for our son's education (as long as we are able and they make good grades), but they are required to earn their spending money. They both have good jobs and are saving it for extras they want during the 9 months at school. All the other parents we know say "Oh, we just couldn't do this to our son/daughter!" What in the heck is wrong with the student being responsible for something?
Whew! I feel much better. Thanks for listening!
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What is wrong with today's parents?
