I saw this, and had a little OMG moment to myself, then just had to write something about it!
How does a small child rack up a huge I-Pod bill? Why does a small child have her own I-Pod? She probably has a 42 inch flatscreen in her bedroom, too, with PS3 and 360 all connected.
What am I saying? I'm saying that parents today tend to give their kids anything they want. As part of Generation X, I grew up in a house that had 2, maybe 3 TVs in it - none of them in the children's bedrooms! I suppose I was lucky to have a relatively inexpensive stereo. Video games? There was an Atari 2600 for one of the TVs - but definitely not in my room!
So, in today's new world, a 6 year old gets a hand-held gaming system of her own, along with the ability to purchase new apps and games for it without her parents approval. How does this happen? What's more, what will happen when this 6 year old kid (and all of the other kids currently getting spoiled like this!) grows up? Won't the child grow up to feel just as entitled to anything she wants? She'll be shoplifting at 14, slapped on the wrist a few times by the legal system, which also believes in sparing the rod to spoil the child, and then, suddenly, she'll be tried as an adult and actually have to go to jail!
Parents: Let's stop spoiling the kids. If they want to play the video games, let them come to the living room to do it. If they want to watch TV, or a movie, let them do it in the living room. And let them get used to the word "no" if you're already using that TV. After all, it's not bad for the kids to learn that they sometimes can't get what they want!
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