Kid's Cafe

I hear it a lot, sometimes from my own mouth: "I want to give my kids what I never had as a kid."

Granted, sometimes we're talking about love, attention and opportunity. But as much as we don't want to admit it, we want to give our kids material, non-essential items just because we can and it's fun.

The toy industry generates 22 billion dollars a year. That's a lot of Barbie Dolls, or at least it was. Now the young girls want American Girl Dolls and Bratz along with the hundreds of outfits and accessories that go with them. It's endless. And we, as parents, are to blame. But it's difficult not to splurge and spoil when our culture seems completely devoted to doing just that.

3 billion dollars a year is spent on advertising that is directed towards children. There are malls and children's stores on every corner, hundreds of toy and gadget catalogs and of course, the internet, where we can find virtually anything our child's little heart desires. When I was a kid, we had to wait until the Sears Toy Catalog came out. That's all we had and that's all we needed!

And then of course, there are the electronics! From cell phones to iPods to video games. Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary that our children have every new gadget on the market. Our kids are becoming so reliant on these gadgets that they honestly do not know what to do with themselves when they are without some type of electronic doohickey that sucks the life out of them. It's stimulation over-load (which deserves it's entirely own blog).

So, what exactly is the harm in spoiling our children and giving them everything they want?

1. Spoiled children will never learn how the real world works (things are not just handed to you).
2. Spoiled children will never learn the true value of money and hard work.
3. Spoiled children will never know if they are defined by who they are or what they have.
4. Spoiled children will not know the true definition of unconditional love.
5. Spoiled children will never learn what it truly feels like to be "proud" of themselves, if they never have to earn anything on their own.

As parents, it's our job to make sure that our kids have what they need to survive and thrive, not what they need to be popular or entertained. It's okay if our children don't like us every minute of every day. They'll love us for it in the long run.