Mary Muscari, associate professor in the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University and author of "Let Kids be Kids: Rescuing Childhood," offers tips for managing materialism in your kids.
According to market researchers Packaged Facts, families with 3- to 12-year-olds spend $53.8 billion annually on items for their children -- $17.6 billion more than parents spent in 1997. Twelve to 19-year-olds spent roughly $175 billion in 2004 or $53 billion more than in 1997, per Teen Research Unlimited. Our modern consumer culture encourages children to find fulfillment in shopping by creating a climate where not having the latest clothes, the most equipped cell phone, and the best of everything else is unthinkable. This "have to have it" mentality and its associated self-definition in terms of possessions, may lead to compulsive buying to regulate mood and escape from self-awareness, a problem that ranks disorder status along with other addictions,
Parents strive to do what's best for their children but sometimes this drive can go off course, especially when it combines with guilt and vanished quality time. A common by-product of this problem is giving in to frequent materialistic whims, which can lead kids to think that wallets are bottomless. If our children are to survive financially tomorrow, they must learn about money matters today - especially in this economic climate.
What's a stressed-out, guilt-ridden parent to do?
Start by buying less.
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