Materialism can lead to unsatisfied children
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The Victoria Advocate will be publishing guest columns from students attending the University of Houston-Victoria. These columns will appear occasionally during the next few weeks. We welcome letters and columns from all students.
It was my first day of fourth grade, and I was turning 10. The first day of school is always a scary one, and that being on your birthday makes it even worse. It was very hot that Louisiana August morning in the trailer that I lived with my mom and sister. I remember like it was yesterday.
My mom came in our room and laid two pretty pink boxes on the top bunk where I was sleeping. When I woke up to get ready for school, I noticed the boxes and eagerly ripped them open. In the first box was a Pocahontas T-shirt that my mom had gotten made for me, in the second box was a little purse that looked like a backpack.
To a 10-year-old girl, getting her first purse is a very exciting moment, and, still, that is my most memorable birthday. When I was younger, we were satisfied with what we were given, no matter how big or small. Becoming an overnight parent, I now realize that giving children gifts today is not at all the same.
This weekend, we had my 8-year-old stepson's birthday party, and I was reminded of that birthday 13 years ago. It is becoming more and more obvious that children today are never going to be completely satisfied with what you give them, no matter what it is. There is always more to be had, and we seem to be reminded of that fact every day.
My stepson, as I'm sure many other children are, is very much into videogames and technology. So far, in his eight years of life, he has received a 46-inch flat screen television, a Playstation 1, 2 and 3, an X-box 360, a PSP, a Nintendo DS and a Wii. This year for his birthday, he wanted a Nintendo 3DS, which I am told is completely different than the regular Nintendo DS that he received last year. I am not completely comfortable with always giving him expensive toys and gadgets that he will not even be interested in once the next big "thing" is released. Instead, my husband and I bought him tickets to an extravaganza that is going to be held in Houston where he will be able to meet some of his biggest role models. He is very involved in tae kwon do and this event will allow him to speak with some of the leading names in his sport. I was very pleased to see that he was happy with his gift even though it was not the Nintendo.
It seems to me that no matter how much a child has in today's society, they are not fully satisfied with it. While going through his gifts this morning, he pulled out the instruction booklet to one of his toys and handed it to his father and simply stated, "We should keep this so we can buy all of these other ones that they sell online to go with this one." His naivety still throws me off at times. Because the job of a parent is to work to give our offspring everything that we did not have when we were children, we run the risk of distorting their reality. I wonder if one day he will be at his son or daughter's party and think back to a birthday that meant the most to him. If so, what will it be that he remembers most about it, the game system that he received that year? Or will it be something more, like the wonderful experience of spending time with his friends and family?
My hope is the latter and that we can teach him how life really works and to be content with what he has.
Brittany Scherzinger is a senior from Tomball attending the University of Houston-Victoria where she is participating in a class - Writing for Print Media.
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I know it has to be hard to be a step mom and materialism is the thing these days. here is
October 25, 2011 at 9:43 a.m.A little different prospective. Our son and daughter in law are raising five, oldest is 13 and youngest is two. They home school, have no TV but sometimes watch shows on the computer like Tweety Bird. He makes six figures but they have only toys that the kids
can build or make. The kids are well rounded in that they can work on a lawnmower, shoot a squirrel , build all kinds of things on their own. They go to a Catholic Church , a
monastery, and the kids end up playing outside for several hours plus a common meal.
They can do computer stuff, cell phone, I-phone, They have their chores like feeding the
chickens, rabbits and dogs...Boxers, watering the garden and peach trees. Spirituality is
a key component in their lives and it should be with every family. Just though I would share . wpt
Thanks for this column, Brittany and the VA editorial dept. It will be reading and discussion material for my family. Very interesting and thought provoking.
I agree that "too much stuff" can lead to boredom and a rat race to acquire more and more.
This reminds me of discussion on materialism and boredom by Professor Peter Kreeft. He says that boredom is a distinctively modern phenomenon, and that the word for boredom did not even exist in premodern languages.
He points out that our society, which has turned the world into a giant fun-and-games factory, or a rich kids' playroom, is the society which is the most bored. He wonders why an American child playing with ten thousand dollars worth of video equipment is more bored than in Indian child playing with two sticks and a stone.
October 25, 2011 at 9:18 a.m.