Children pleading for expensive things

barbiedoll

Janepig wrote: »

The things I didn't have as a child weren't so much because my parents couldn't afford it but because my mother would just refuse. Like the video recorder. And Sindy dolls. Oh god I was so desperate for a Sindy, but no, my mother didn't like them so I went without. Running joke in our family was how deprived I was because of that!! DD had a Barbie (no Sindy anymore) for her first Christmas!! But she never showed the remotest interest, not even when she was older, thwarted again!!!
Jx

You should come round to see me, I've got Sindy (and Barbie) dolls...and I still play with them! I always make a point of buying the "first" Barbie for any girls within my family or circle of friends. I don't think that any of them have ever actually played with them.
I never bought my son a teddy bear because I hate soft toys (they're just dust-gatherers)...I was mortified when he was at nursery school and he asked me if he could have one so that he could go to the school's "Teddy Bear's picnic"...I thought it was cute that he used to take his Thomas trains to bed with him, I really am a terrible mother!

When me and my brother get together, we often end up moaning about how poor we were and how we never got a Chopper bike, an Evel Knievel action figure, a Sindy house (my ultimate dream lol!) etc etc etc. But then we think about what we actually did have. A mum who was mostly at home to care for us. Outings to the park and the beach throughout the summer. Toys galore, even if they were sometimes from jumble sales or passed on from someone else. To be honest, my best ever Christmas present was my cousin's old record player, my brother's most coveted possessions were his Thunderbird 1 and 2, which were bought for pennies at a Scout hall jumble sale (he still has Thunderbird 2....my son has made him promise to leave it to him in his will!)

Last year, my son told me that he "needed" an iPhone. When I stopped laughing, I told him that when he earned his own money, he could give Apple as much of his cash as he wanted. I can remember my mum doing much the same thing when I told her that I absolutely HAD to have a phone in my bedroom. :rotfl::rotfl:

jrtfan

missbiggles1 wrote: »

That's assuming there was a phone at home, which wasn't the case for many people when I was growing up.

I also think that many people travelled further to school in those days because you had to go a distance to get to a grammar school.

My parents had their telephone installed when I was 16. Seems almost unthinkable nowadays to be without a phone of some description. Although call me a Luddite, but life was so much easier before the advent of mobile phones in my opinion - at least people were able to powder their noses in peace!

I think a fair number of kids still do travel further to school even today, to reach the secondary schools with the better OFSTED ratings. Very few of my son's classmates at primary school have moved on to nearest comprehensives, for this very reason. Our local bus company puts on special school routes during term-time but there's only 1 bus morning and afternoon so if the kids miss these, they can be stuck. I suppose it's a passable reason for them carrying a mobile phone with them to school, in case of emergency. But it doesn't need to be a smartphone or iPhone to make a call and I think in these circumstances, a cheap and basic push-button model would do the job very well.

jrtfan

carmina_piranha wrote: »

My 19 year old said last night that he envies my teenage years where a relationship wasn't 24/7 with constant texting, etc.

He was gobsmacked though when I told him that I used a phone box to call my boyfriend (he was posh, he had a phone) at a pre-arranged time

:rotfl: I remember those days too! And wasn't it frustrating when you reached the telephone box bang on time, only to find somebody else was occupying it to make what seemed like an endless call, themselves! Particularly during Winter

Janepig

barbiedoll wrote: »

You should come round to see me, I've got Sindy (and Barbie) dolls...and I still play with them! I always make a point of buying the "first" Barbie for any girls within my family or circle of friends. I don't think that any of them have ever actually played with them.
I never bought my son a teddy bear because I hate soft toys (they're just dust-gatherers)...I was mortified when he was at nursery school and he asked me if he could have one so that he could go to the school's "Teddy Bear's picnic"...I thought it was cute that he used to take his Thomas trains to bed with him, I really am a terrible mother!

When me and my brother get together, we often end up moaning about how poor we were and how we never got a Chopper bike, an Evel Knievel action figure, a Sindy house (my ultimate dream lol!) etc etc etc. But then we think about what we actually did have. A mum who was mostly at home to care for us. Outings to the park and the beach throughout the summer. Toys galore, even if they were sometimes from jumble sales or passed on from someone else. To be honest, my best ever Christmas present was my cousin's old record player, my brother's most coveted possessions were his Thunderbird 1 and 2, which were bought for pennies at a Scout hall jumble sale (he still has Thunderbird 2....my son has made him promise to leave it to him in his will!)

Last year, my son told me that he "needed" an iPhone. When I stopped laughing, I told him that when he earned his own money, he could give Apple as much of his cash as he wanted. I can remember my mum doing much the same thing when I told her that I absolutely HAD to have a phone in my bedroom. :rotfl::rotfl:

Oh don't get me started on the Sindy town house, I'd have killed for one of those! One of my friends had one and I was constantly round her house nagging to play with it but she was never bothered with it. We always used to end up going out to play.

My brother had a Thunderbird vehicle, not sure what number, it was green metal and had red legs that popped out!! I loved that. he also had a starship enterprise that shot out yellow discs. He had all the interesting stuff!!! Lol.

Jx

jrtfan

carmina_piranha wrote: »

How much is 1GB of data? Cost-wise, I mean.

I was going to say if you were spending £10 each month anyway, the tesco £7.50 plan is cheaper, mine is capped at £2.50 in extras per month. The phones aren't flashy, but are good enough for me. Having said that, it's only 500MB of data. That's enough for me, I use the wifi at home mostly, and work has free wifi.

Well, my son's phone is on EE/T-Mobile and mine is EE/Orange. Both are PAYG. My son has only ever had £10 bundles which include 1Gb mobile data plus unlimited texts (no calls). I think mine is the same with a £10 bundle, but if I buy a bundle for £20 then I get 3Gb data.

We have mobile wifi at home (for now, hopefully not forever). Again, it's PAYG. The old dongle was with 3 (3G), 1Gb=£10, 3Gb=£15, 7Gb=£25 if memory serves. The newer one is with EE (4G) and is no better on price with 1Gb=£10, 10Gb=£30, and a couple more amounts in between the two which I can't call to mind at the moment. All top-ups last for 30 days.

Certainly with phones, contract looks like providing a much better deal and thank you for the tip. I'm living off savings at the moment though and won't commit to any sort of contract unless/until I have a regular income once again. Meanwhile I limit how much mobile wifi we use!

With my son's monthly £10 bundle, he's obliged to earn it by doing a few chores around the home and I'll 'pay' him per chore. I suppose really, he's paying for his bundles himself in a way - hadn't looked at it from this perspective before!

carmina_piranha

Slightly off topic, but I was looking at comments on a facebook 'suggested post' today by a company that does pre-paid debit cards for kids aged 8+ and somebody said that her child is less likely to splurge now that it's his chore money paying for his fripperies

BigAunty

carmina_piranha wrote: »

My kids have never heard of Hollister, thankfully.

I am the informal 'Aunty' of a french teenage girl. For her 13th birthday, one of her gifts was a second hand Abercrombie & Fitch hoody from Ebay that cost about a fiver when the new retail price is probably around £50, I assume. The rest of her birthday box was filled with cheap Primark sunglasses, make up and scarves.

She was really thrilled - her mother told me she wore her fiver top all the time. So I sent her another batch of 2nd hand Hollister, Superdry and A & F hoodies from ebay where the postage was more expensive than the items. Apparently she screamed in delight at the package.

I also remember when she was around 7, her mum gave me a parcel of her outgrown shoes and boots for my Niece who was a little younger. My Niece thought they were fab and was excited to try them on.

At the time, I remembered as a child I hated hand me downs and charity shop clothes with a vengeance. I expected rejection of the footwear on this basis but her mother - my sister - said that her daughter then wasn't the slightest bit interested in brand clothing and most of her wardrobe came from Asda without a single protest.

jrtfan

BigAunty wrote: »

At the time, I remembered as a child I hated hand me downs and charity shop clothes with a vengeance. I expected rejection of the footwear on this basis but her mother - my sister - said that her daughter then wasn't the slightest bit interested in brand clothing and most of her wardrobe came from Asda without a single protest.

She sounds as though she has her head firmly screwed on already! My son's the same when it comes to clothing - in fact, on the rare occasions when we find ourselves window-shopping, he'll be the one opining on the ridiculously expensive price tags on branded children's clothing and saying what a waste of money these things are! I keep waiting for the bubble to burst.

Charity shops today have gone much more up-market than they once were, in my opinion. I wonder if that might be a result of people in general being more able to afford better-quality clothing these days, and having the option of renewing their wardrobe every year or so? Items don't seem to have a chance of becoming worn out and I've noticed it's especially true of children's clothing. Some of the bits I've bought for my son over the years have looked brand new and nobody would have guessed they'd come from one of the charity shops.

Ilona

Parents who give their kids everything they ask for are not doing them any favours. When they come to leaving school and looking for a job, and they can't find one, they will be going back to the bank of mum and dad for years to come. Learning to stand on your own two feet is the best lessons any parent can pass on to their kids. Even I know that and I haven't had any kids. I remember my own upbringing, mum often said 'no' to me.

I was the first one in my family (eldest of three), to have a bicycle. Not a brand spanking new Raleigh like my friends had. My granddad built one in his shed from bits of broken bikes, he painted it yellow. I remember my first ride, Granddad pushed me from behind as I wobbled along. Kids poked fun at me because I didn't fit in. I didn't care, I took the cycling proficiency test on it, and went on lots of rides. I loved that bike.

My upbringing has molded me into the person I am today. I still buy second hand, make things from scrap, and skip dive. So glad I was born into a frugal working class family.

Ilona

carmina_piranha

jrtfan wrote: »

Charity shops today have gone much more up-market than they once were, in my opinion. I wonder if that might be a result of people in general being more able to afford better-quality clothing these days, and having the option of renewing their wardrobe every year or so? Items don't seem to have a chance of becoming worn out and I've noticed it's especially true of children's clothing. Some of the bits I've bought for my son over the years have looked brand new and nobody would have guessed they'd come from one of the charity shops.

Not everyone wants hand-me-downs, or knows somebody who would be glad of them. I know one person who gladly takes my son's clothes, whereas when I was growing up almost everyone I knew passed down clothes and was happy to be offered them.

Around 16 years ago one of my Avon customers asked if I wanted her son's outgrown clothes, but she was worried about asking me, as if I might be offended. I wasn't :T