Found this in my drafts...
At the very end of my ballet class, I allowed each girl to tell me one thing she got for Christmas. Gifts mentioned ranged from American Girl dolls to iphones, Wii's, Nintendo DS's, cameras, a 3-day pass to Disneyland and even a trip to Hawaii, leaving that very day! I was a little amazed that not one of the gifts cost under a hundred dollars, and some of them cost into the thousands! And that was for one gift. Believe me, I'm not saying that's wrong. We are big into Christmas excess, and I can only justify it by saying that my kids don't get presents all the time. Scott loves Christmas, and he likes to do it up like his parents did for him, and like mine did for me. It is interesting, though, that the gifts have become so costly.
My dancers are girls who work hard at ballet, and probably at school and sports and church and playing instruments, and in some cases, they work very hard just to stay mentally balanced. These are little Americans, so the "Work Hard, Play Hard" ethic is embedded into their psyches. I just wonder, are we giving our youth too much? I would argue, and you might disagree, that we are not giving them too much. Adults have been worried about spoiling kids since Adam and Eve. I'm not a "What is our society coming to?" type person. I think it's easier to ruin them by expecting too little from them than by giving them nice Christmas gifts. I guess my argument is that it's not what we give children that spoils them. It's when we don't expect or demand from them (gratitude, hard work, high moral standards) that spoils them. I could be wrong. It's just a thought.
At the very end of my ballet class, I allowed each girl to tell me one thing she got for Christmas. Gifts mentioned ranged from American Girl dolls to iphones, Wii's, Nintendo DS's, cameras, a 3-day pass to Disneyland and even a trip to Hawaii, leaving that very day! I was a little amazed that not one of the gifts cost under a hundred dollars, and some of them cost into the thousands! And that was for one gift. Believe me, I'm not saying that's wrong. We are big into Christmas excess, and I can only justify it by saying that my kids don't get presents all the time. Scott loves Christmas, and he likes to do it up like his parents did for him, and like mine did for me. It is interesting, though, that the gifts have become so costly.
My dancers are girls who work hard at ballet, and probably at school and sports and church and playing instruments, and in some cases, they work very hard just to stay mentally balanced. These are little Americans, so the "Work Hard, Play Hard" ethic is embedded into their psyches. I just wonder, are we giving our youth too much? I would argue, and you might disagree, that we are not giving them too much. Adults have been worried about spoiling kids since Adam and Eve. I'm not a "What is our society coming to?" type person. I think it's easier to ruin them by expecting too little from them than by giving them nice Christmas gifts. I guess my argument is that it's not what we give children that spoils them. It's when we don't expect or demand from them (gratitude, hard work, high moral standards) that spoils them. I could be wrong. It's just a thought.
4 comments:
It's a good thought, and I whole-heartedly agree.
This is why I admire you so much...I had never considered this thought at all!
I grew up in a home where we were very blessed. Like your own children, we were able to visit many places across the globe (mostly in the U.S.), always had nice dinners on the table and were always able to get a new pair of "Doc Martins" before each school year. Despite all of that, there was a lot expected of each of us. It wasn't an option to "give up" at anything...we worked extremely hard at school, we were active in our beliefs, and we were given the opportunity to participate in extracurricular activities - not just for fun. We were expected to do well, because these extra activities were a window toward earning college scholarships.
While many may see my life as "lucky" because of the things I had, those things didn't come for free. I worked hard. I still work hard. I paid for the parts of college that scholarships didn't cover. We earned money for a down payment on a house. I believe that I have become a contributing citizen of the place in which I live. I hope and pray that I can do the same for my own children.
Obviously you really got me thinking here...
This is something you could argue either way. I think that you just have to make sure you are doing what is best for YOUR own kids. And yes- Christmas is VERY expensive at our house.
I think you are right.
Post a Comment