Materialistic society is 'damaging' children: poll

I didn't think a study was even needed for this...

"Spoiled" is the most easily applied word...AND even worse, a ton of children consider themselves poor and unable to get by if they don't have what "the other kids" have...

"But everybody else has a Prada bag!"...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

I think it has damaged children only to the extent it has compromised parenting skills. By that I mean if parents get confused, then the kid will be too. If a parent is strong and has been raised by people with common sense, she can instill that in the child. Also church organizations and any structured clubs, sports, will teach values! Especially if the child becomes an officer in a club (treasurer comes to mind).

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Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.

I don't think that this is anything new, regardless of how much or little everyone else around them has.

If a child (and his/her friends) sees something that someone else has and thinks it is cool, that child is going to want it to be cool too.

I suspect that this is as old as humanity itself. There are just more things now.

I went to private schools,we all dressed exactly the same. There was never any pressure as far as clothing styles.The boys wore blue shirts,balck ties and black pants. The girls all wore white shirts and plaid dresses.We came from all income levels but there was no way to tell who was better off.

Still..there were times when the kids envied the other kids.Some had better bikes or could stay out later at night.Today things are far different,teachers no longer kick the crap out of you when you don't tow the line. I remember when a Nun once pushed me down a flight of stairs because I was taking too long in the hallway. Another Nun whacked my left hand every day because it was the devils hand.. I can thank her today because I'm now ambidextrous..

During my childhood there was no such thing as a credit card! Today,parents can spoil their children on the installment plan...

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The Pessimist complains about the wind.
The Optimist expects it to change.
The Realist adjust the sails - William A. Ward

Her name wasn't Sister Mary Patrick Theresa, was it?

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Anyway, no drug, not even alcohol, causes the fundamental ills of society. If we're looking for the source of our troubles, we shouldn't test people for drugs, we should test them for stupidity, ignorance, greed and love of power.

Nope,her name was Sister Nativita and she always told me she punished me because she loved me..

Everytime I see a nun in full habit it's like looking into my rearview mirror and seeing a police car..

That said,I was a difficult student,a daydreamer but with a high I.Q. and they gave me structure.I graduated as the most devout student in the school.What did the trick for me was the fact that those nuns all had very bad breath. I behaved to keep them away from me...

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The Pessimist complains about the wind.
The Optimist expects it to change.
The Realist adjust the sails - William A. Ward

I think we're looking through the same lens but seeing something different...

Both of you are correct...HOWEVER...

Back in "the day" if someone had something you didn't, YOU were the "average" kid and the other kid was spoiled..."ABOVE average"...

Nowadays, the exact same kid has something you don't, THAT KID is now considered "average" and you are now considered "LESS than average"...

There's the difference...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd

A SOCIETALLY indulged "spoiled".
This wouldn't be happening if parents left and right weren't giving into the "Well Jenny's parents got her one" mentality.
(Or, parents stop believing it whenever their kid says "But every other kid in my grade has ____"

What happened to the good ol' days (of course I didn't think of them as such then) with the "If Jenny's parents let her jump off a bridge..." response?

Quite frankly, parents should help their kids learn the value of a dollar.
If the kid wants X, then maybe the kid should get a job and EARN money to buy X.

I've got a friend at work with teen-age sons, and he gives me a chuckle whenever he tells me stories about how his kid wants something, and suddenly the importance of that thing shifts when the impetus to PAY for that item is suddenly shifted to the person who wants that item.



Hey! Leave Prada out of this!!!

just kidding.



I think that exists to a larger degree.
I also leave room for those cases where the kid involved is just SAYING "But everybody else has ____".

Remember the days when more than one TV was a luxury?
I don't know about you, but most kids didn't have a "game system" when I was growing up.

Quite frankly, I think "Materialistic Society" isn't just accurate for our kids, but rather our kids are in some ways reflective of what you describe in adult society as well.

Topic - Materialistic society is 'damaging' children: poll

While there are many factors that contribute to a materialistic society,I believe easy credit is a major component. I don't remember VISA and Matercard being used in the 50's and 60's. This "easy" credit not only damages children,it damages their parents by creating a false sense of wealth.When I was a child in the 50's,you either had money or you didn't and your parents spent according to their budget.Having almost unlimited spending power has a way of creating and enforcing materialism.

__________________
The Pessimist complains about the wind.
The Optimist expects it to change.
The Realist adjust the sails - William A. Ward