What A Kid Wants
I just got off the phone with a friend who is experiencing some of the same economic doldrums that we are here in Westchester. We were talking about how our kids remembered better times when they were younger: limos to the airport; trips to exotic locations; ball games; basketball games, etc. etc.
For Christmas, my daughter wants--in no particular order--jeans (she has five pairs or so), a $359 camera from Costco; a 'cool' ski helmet (not the $50 kind, the $129 kind); cross country skiis; new ski gloves; a new Ipod Touch--she lost the last one--and as many shopping trips to the city as can be managed. Currently she wants different shampoo; and an $80 yearbook even though she's in 9th grade and surely will barely be in it. Oh, and she also wants to take classes on Saturdays at FIT at $450 a pop.
My daughter is spoiled but she also remembers better times. She remembers the days when she would pick something up in a store and even before she could put it down I would ask "do you want that?" And I would buy it.
Now, most things she wants she can't have. The other day, she told me about an end-of-year crew party that was held at a large waterfront estate here in our town. She wasn't there. The kids wandered from room to room marveling at the size of the place. The common refrain was "wow, we're poor". These are kids who mostly live in houses that would not sell even today for less than a million dollars. They saw something bigger than what they had and they felt diminished. Is that ambition or greed or being spoiled? These kids have never known 'better' times. The fathers of these kids are coming into their peak earning years and things will only get better. They don't realize that right now but I guess someday they will.
When she told me the story I told her "there's always someone with more money, it doesn't matter how rich you are. There's always someone with more". I was referring to her friends who were wandering about saying 'wow, we're poor' but for her sake I should have added "there's always someone with less" too.
For Christmas, my daughter wants--in no particular order--jeans (she has five pairs or so), a $359 camera from Costco; a 'cool' ski helmet (not the $50 kind, the $129 kind); cross country skiis; new ski gloves; a new Ipod Touch--she lost the last one--and as many shopping trips to the city as can be managed. Currently she wants different shampoo; and an $80 yearbook even though she's in 9th grade and surely will barely be in it. Oh, and she also wants to take classes on Saturdays at FIT at $450 a pop.
My daughter is spoiled but she also remembers better times. She remembers the days when she would pick something up in a store and even before she could put it down I would ask "do you want that?" And I would buy it.
Now, most things she wants she can't have. The other day, she told me about an end-of-year crew party that was held at a large waterfront estate here in our town. She wasn't there. The kids wandered from room to room marveling at the size of the place. The common refrain was "wow, we're poor". These are kids who mostly live in houses that would not sell even today for less than a million dollars. They saw something bigger than what they had and they felt diminished. Is that ambition or greed or being spoiled? These kids have never known 'better' times. The fathers of these kids are coming into their peak earning years and things will only get better. They don't realize that right now but I guess someday they will.
When she told me the story I told her "there's always someone with more money, it doesn't matter how rich you are. There's always someone with more". I was referring to her friends who were wandering about saying 'wow, we're poor' but for her sake I should have added "there's always someone with less" too.
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