My Mr. 8 came home from school unhappy yesterday. He declared that everyone in his class got better ‘stuff’ for Christmas than he did. According to him the kids in his class got kindles, cell phones, and I pads. I assured him that I was certain that they did not ALL receive such gifts and that maybe there was some exaggerating.
Today I was in his class room. I talked to his teacher and to some of the other teachers and parents about what the students claimed to have received for Christmas. And let me tell you I was shocked and appalled. One little boy got 15 new x-box video games in addition to clothing, Legos and money. These games cost about $50 a piece and can be scratched just by looking at them.
Another girl now has a kindle and a new Play station 3 game system (she has 2 siblings who also now each have their own kindle). Uh what about when they drop it it the toilet because they wanted to read while going potty. You can’t just dry it out and disinfect it.
Others reported on new 3-d Nintendo ds handhelds along with games for their old ds. Wait! More than one ds per child? Can you play more than one at once?
I pods and new laptops of a variety of sizes and colors for elementary school kiddos. What happened yo coloring books and crayons? FYI My Mr. 13 has left his mp 3 (that I paid $20 for) outside in the snow and has washed it more than one–it still works. I won’t buy him an ipod because I’m not sure he is ready to keep track of one. Only my Miss 17 has a cell phone and the boys know they won’t get one before they are 16.
I haven’t even heard what the middle and high schoolers got. Seriously?
Am I missing something? My Mr. 8 got 1 new video game for Christmas along with some small toys and a new book. According to several articles, consumers spent $700 on gifts this year–but if these kids are telling the truth, that number has to be much higher. Either that or I misread it and people are spending $700 PER PERSON on gifts!
I think it is completely out of control. What do you think?
That does sound extreme to me, but my middle schooler was called a “rich kid” when they saw his poster I made about him because I had a picture of him at Boondocks, and one at Eliches. FYI, Eliches tickets came from Grandma, and Boondocks happens about once every 3 years. Luckily I have not heard complaints about the lack of gifts for Christmas but I have not seen their birthday wish lists yet…
STick to your guns. And speaking of guns, they ain’t cheap either. (I know. I bought them for my sons decades ago when they were 12 and 16.) $700 per person is outrageous! Those parents will regret that someday. Trust me.
I so very much agree! We are turning our children into materialistic monsters who look at Christmas as a giant gift orgy. They don’t appreciate it having so much so young and we end up with a society of “I deserve the sun, the moon, and the stars.” people. Just look around you. Thankfully there are some parents who can’t or won’t feed the glutton in their children. Sorry if I’m on a soap box but I feel really strongly about this.
Same here. It’s ridiculous! I saw a thread on Amazon from a mom trying to figure out which tablet she should go with for her 4 yr old daughter. Her 4 yr old!!! My friends have kids who got the new kindle, the new ipod touch, the new iphone, etc. And some of these kids parents have told me before how things are so tight, they can’t hardly afford food. What are they thinking???