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Michelle Singletary Rocks!
By JLP | April 21, 2006
Okay, maybe I’m being a bit overzealous, but Michelle Singletary has written a really good column titled Spare the iPod, Unspoil the Child that I think all parents and grandparents must read. As a parent, I know EXACTLY where she’s coming from. Although my boys aren’t too materialistic, they still think there are some things they should have simply because their friends have them.
One of their friends is an only child. This kid is so spoiled it is almost sad. He is nine years old and has a cell phone, a tree house with air conditioning, he’s on his third bicycle in less than a year. If my boys get a skateboard, a week or so later, this little boy has a skateboard. I’m not saying that I’m a perfect parent, but I know enough to know that you can’t buy your kids everything they want. There has to be some restraint.
Thats it. I’m done ranting for now.
Topics: Kids and Money | 7 Comments »
April 21st, 2006 at 5:29 pm
I hear ya … this is a tough thing to balance. I want my kids to be “cool” ’cause I remember the social pressures, but then you gotta raise them in a way so that they respect and value money and physical posessions. There’s no easy answer in finding the middle road…
April 21st, 2006 at 6:29 pm
A TREEHOUSE with AC? Wow. I don’t even know what to say to that.
April 21st, 2006 at 7:17 pm
This is one of the reasons that I absolutely dread my little guy becoming a teenager (besides the fact that I just adore him at age 6 – what a great age!). Part of our challenge as parents is to try to avoid breeding this sense of entitlement that so many kids have these days. Our plan (already underway) is to teach our son that to get stuff he wants (not needs), he has to save and/or work for it.
April 21st, 2006 at 7:26 pm
Great article! Honestly, I feel sorry for your neighbor’s kid. In 15-20 years, real life is going to be a culture shock for him. I agree with you, some restraint IS necessary.
April 22nd, 2006 at 8:46 am
As someone who closely watches where my money goes, I think Michelle Singletary is by far the best PF guru out there. I’ve looked at all of them including Bach, Orman, and Ramsey, but I like her very practical, no-nosense way about money–plus she has a “down-home” spin that’s really appealing. She has a show “Singletary Says” on TVOne, and one week she hauled out all the jeans one couple had (with no savings, no emergency fund, no college fund), added up the cost, and stacked them around the couple’s living room–the estimated cost was about $5K–an eye opener for the couple. So, yes I agree. Michelle Singetary rocks!
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:09 am
Raising kids is without a doubt extraordinarily difficult today. Certainly the media is making it more so through advertising and portraying lifestyles that are unrealistic. I’m on the backside of raising four and can attest to the importance of planting and adhering to right values. It pays big dividends later as children become adults – years that pass all too quickly.
Kids also learn by example. It should be no surprise that kids demand instant gratification when parents also refuse to deny themselves. See the unbelieveable statistics reflecting average credit card debt and nonexistent savings for retirement. It’s frightening.
April 25th, 2006 at 9:10 am
She also appears on the NPR show Day To Day. They have an archive of her commentary here (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?columnId=4465062).