Do you think kids today are spoiled?

[anjinha]

I feel kinda old just asking this question (I'm 21) but I just saw a thread about a 14 year old that wants an iPhone and decided to start this one.

It just weirds me out a bit seeing how kids today act about material things.

What do you guys think?

 

[Prof.]

Yes i do. When i see 12-14 year old kids walking around with smart phones that cost 300+, I can't help but to mutter "Spoiled little brat" under my breath. I didn't' get my first cell until i was 16 and it was a pre-pay.

 

[shfreelance]

I feel kinda old just asking this question (I'm 21) but I just saw a thread about a 14 year old that wants an iPhone and decided to start this one.

It just weirds me out a bit seeing how kids today act about material things.

What do you guys think?

No 14 year old needs a smartphone, no 14 year old needs a full cell phone. I did not get a full cellphone, till I got my license and a car. I did not get text and data till I was able to pay for the extras. I do believe a 14 year old should have one of those phones, that can only dial 5 numbers. I think some kids are spoiled, some are not.

PS: I am 18... If it matters...

 

[Sun Baked]

Sort of sad ...

The kids are spoiled and it is against the law to feed rotten meat to the dogs.

 

[shecky]

i teach undergraduate students.

my experience is that quite a few (not all) have a sense of entitlement. a sort of assumption that they will get what they want, do what they want, have everything come to them. they are also very good at being unaccountable. "well i did not know this was due tuesday." "oh, i did not realize you needed 2 copies of that."

 

[bassproguy07]

when it comes to phones yes, I didnt get a cell till my junior year of HS, 17. I paid for my 3G but the parents pay for the plan so I guess I am some what spoiled when it comes to that part lol. I see kids around here with trucks that cost as much as a mercedes or BMW. A few kids in town have multiple cars etc. but hey if you got the money why not give it to your kids!

 

[anjinha]

i teach undergraduate students.

my experience is that quite a few (not all) have a sense of entitlement. a sort of assumption that they will get what they want, do what they want, have everything come to them. they are also very good at being unaccountable. "well i did not know this was due tuesday." "oh, i did not realize you needed 2 copies of that."

I know what you mean. I'm in college right now and I know a lot of people like that.

 

[shfreelance]

Sort of sad ...

The kids are spoiled and it is against the law to feed rotten meat to the dogs.

It's also against the law to spank kids... The law should be happy I can't have kids. I am telling you, I may be 18... But how some kids treat there parents, I am surprised they don't pop them in the month. I see this with my stepdad and his son...

 

[ZiggyPastorius]

Hard question, obviously. Do I think "kids today" are spoiled? Not really. I think when we look at the rise of things like cell phones, we see it less as being spoiled, and more of just being the way things are becoming with this technology. Though I agree, I hate it when I see pre-teens and such with expensive stuff they won't use, simply because they get anything they want. Perhaps it's not that way with all of them, but I highly doubt a majority of those 14 year olds with two Macbook Pros (Man, I hate her...) and BlackBerries are using them for anything serious. That said, I'm approaching eighteen now, and I'll be buying myself an AT&T plan and an iPhone. Does the "I don't like seeing kids with smartphones" thing apply to me, too?

 

[anjinha]

when it comes to phones yes, I didnt get a cell till my junior year of HS, 17. I paid for my 3G but the parents pay for the plan so I guess I am some what spoiled when it comes to that part lol. I see kids around here with trucks that cost as much as a mercedes or BMW. A few kids in town have multiple cars etc. but hey if you got the money why not give it to your kids!

I have nothing against giving things to the kids, when you have the money for it. But when you give too much too easily they get used it and start "demanding" things and start thinking they're entitled to them.

 

[motulist]

Of course it depends on the kid. But I can tell you anecdotally that I have a 12 year old relative and this kid has everything under the sun, but I don't think he really appreciates almost any of it. I'm not very close with those relatives, so I didn't know much about their lives. When they came over for thanksgiving I found out he has an ipod touch, he went to the recent superbowl, his family had a paid sit-down meal with tiki barber, he has a cute girlfriend, he has a guitar, etc. and yet he was really frustrated that his parents wouldn't set up wifi in the house so he can use his ipod touch anywhere in the house. He's a nice kid, but I don't think he appreciates all of the amazing things he already has.

 

[Schtumple]

Must...refrain...from....ranting....


(I really dislike children)

 

[shfreelance]

when it comes to phones yes, I didnt get a cell till my junior year of HS, 17. I paid for my 3G but the parents pay for the plan so I guess I am some what spoiled when it comes to that part lol. I see kids around here with trucks that cost as much as a mercedes or BMW. A few kids in town have multiple cars etc. but hey if you got the money why not give it to your kids!

I am the same way, I have to pay or either do work in exchange for text/data. My parents did buy me my first car. It's an 1997 Acura TL 3.2L, it's not the best vehicle on the road. It's cheap and a good learner car. They told me if I want something else to sell it and pay for it myself. I have no problem with that, I am trying to sell it now. Only because it's unreliable and recently had a damn wheel fall off... But I also have a second car, that I inherited from my dad. It's the only thing I really have of him, that and books. It's a 1963 Ford Falcon Convertible. Not really an every day car, but at the moment it does not run. But there may be a story to why these kids have a two cars. I just hope it's a good one...

 

[ZiggyPastorius]

My first car (Van, actually) was given to me, because it was my mom's old one, and she had her own. It wasn't being used. So I used that until it broke down (not my fault...the timing belt finally ended up breaking. First time, and it has like 210,000+ miles on it). Anyways, it had some problems, so I decided to look for a more economically sound vehicle, so I got myself a smaller car, a 1997 Buick Regal for $2000 Great condition, great car. Love it.

 

[.Andy]

I don't think they're any different to what we were when we were kids really. They've grown up in a different time with different pressures and opportunities. Every generation of kids is bemoaned as spoilt and irresponsible by older generations. I think it's party because we have trouble relating to their attitude and behavioural trends, because it makes us feel better (in a sanctimonious way) about ourselves, and a large proportion just us pining (and jealous) over our own lost youth.

 

[juanster]

It's also against the law to spank kids... The law should be happy I can't have kids. I am telling you, I may be 18... But how some kids treat there parents, I am surprised they don't pop them in the month. I see this with my stepdad and his son...

really? it is against the law to spank kids? i didn t know that..hmmmmm... guess i will be breaking teh law when i have kids then..

 

[anjinha]

I don't think they're any different to what we were when we were kids really. They've grown up in a different time with different pressures and opportunities. Every generation of kids is bemoaned as spoilt and irresponsible by older generations. I think it's party because we have trouble relating to their attitude and behavioural trends, because it makes us feel better (in a sanctimonious way) about ourselves, and a large proportion just us pining (and jealous) over our own lost youth.

But for me it's not what the kids get today (fancy cellphones, laptops..), it's how they get them. A lot of kids today just have everything given to them without doing anything to earn them.

 

[Sun Baked]

really? it is against the law to spank kids? i didn t know that..hmmmmm... guess i will be breaking teh law when i have kids then..

These days if the 8 year old gets spanked enough, he kills the father.

Still waiting to see what deal that poor spanked murderer will get.

And does the mother really want that kid in the house.

Almost as bad as that kid Lionel Tate in Florida.

 

[.Andy]

But for me it's not what the kids get today (fancy cellphones, laptops..), it's how they get them. A lot of kids today just have everything given to them without doing anything to earn them.

In all honesty you're sounding like you're just jealous.

As a said before every generation bemoans the next on their opportunities, apparent laziness, and gravy train ride through life. It's 99% perception. In reality this thread is more about you (and others) getting older.

 

[SlasherDuff]

I kind of think kids are more spoiled these days than how most of us were raised. I know I wouldn't have gotten away with wringing my mothers arms begging her for an iPod for Christmas. She would have told me to drop it the second plea. Of course for my sister who is fifteen years younger than me, she got her iPod Nano for Christmas two years ago for a crisp 150 bucks. I admit I was jealous.

 

[LethalWolfe]

But for me it's not what the kids get today (fancy cellphones, laptops..), it's how they get them. A lot of kids today just have everything given to them without doing anything to earn them.

Is that pretty much the definition of a spoiled kid though? I mean, 20 years ago a classmate of my sister's got a new, black Porsche for her sweet 16 and cried because it wasn't red. I think I agree w/.Andy that, relatively speaking, kids today aren't really that much more or less spoiled than kids of yesteryear. I will say that there seems to be a sense of entitlement that wasn't around when I was growing up. Personally, I blame the baby boomers in general for poor parenting.


Lethal

 

[quagmire]

Yeah, they are spoiled. I have grown up in a wealthy area. Most kids drive Mercedes, BMW's, or Lexus's. Most are new if not 2 years old at the oldest. When I was a freshmen in HS I saw a 16 year old kid with an E46 M3( last generation) and most likely new.

Now I have to admit I am a bit spoiled myself as I got a new car as well, but it is a Saturn and I love it. Though I do enjoy taking my dads BMW to get it washed and to the grocery store when he gives me the privilege to. I am thankful though for both my Saturn and the privilege of driving the BMW and I know what I am working towards in the future.

I have also started transitioning to paying things on my own. 5 out of the 7 iPods I have bought were bought with my own money. I bought both of my iPhones with my own money( $600 and $300). My parents are paying the phone bill though. I also split the cost of my 17" MBP and a new set of tires for my car( the OEM's sucked when it rained, snowed, etc) with my parents. While they are still paying for most of my things( I am 18 in college right now) I have started to ween off of them.

 

[jonbravo77]

In all honesty you're sounding like you're just jealous.

As a said before every generation bemoans the next on their opportunities, apparent laziness, and gravy train ride through life. It's 99% perception. In reality this thread is more about you (and others) getting older.

I don't quit think jealous is the right word. In my case, it's down right irritation. I think the common theme here is entitlement. Kids who are growing up feel they are entitle to everything whether they work for it or not. And it's mostly parents fault and a sociatal issue as well. Everyone is getting afraid to say no to there kids because of either the kid will cause harm or the govt. may step in. Parents are so busy with jobs and such there is no more personl responsibility to their kids they brought into this world.

It is a very tough thing to balance career or just making ends meat and raising a child and most parents feel that if they just give in to what the child wants then they can say job well done. Also the trend of parents calling schools to complain about why their kid got a D in a class or calling jobs to tell the employer they need to hire their kid back is getting way out of control as well. These things teach kids that they deserve everything for giving nothing. It's not a jealous thing, it's frustration that kids are growing up not appreciating the things they have and understanding that they have to give to receive.

 

[anjinha]

Is that pretty much the definition of a spoiled kid though? I mean, 20 years ago a classmate of my sister's got a new, black Porsche for her sweet 16 and cried because it wasn't red. I think I agree w/.Andy that, relatively speaking, kids today aren't really that much more or less spoiled than kids of yesteryear. I will say that there seems to be a sense of entitlement that wasn't around when I was growing up. Personally, I blame the baby boomers in general for poor parenting.


Lethal

I'm not saying that they are spoiled because they have fancy things. I think they are spoiled because they have everything too easily, and always seem to demand more and more and think they are entitled to everything they want.

As I said before the issue is not what they have, it's how they get it.

I have a friend of mine who has a very confortable lifestyle, probably got what wanted growing up since his parents could afford nice things. But still he values things, and works for what he wants and tries to buy things for himself instead of always asking his parents. Most of my friends aren't like that, and most of the kids I see today are heading in the opposite direction.

 

[CalBoy]

Must...refrain...from....ranting....

(I really dislike children)

I'd bet that what you don't like in the children you see is the result of bad parenting.

I know many good children, and it's quite clear that they have good parents behind them.

In all honesty you're sounding like you're just jealous.

As a said before every generation bemoans the next on their opportunities, apparent laziness, and gravy train ride through life. It's 99% perception. In reality this thread is more about you (and others) getting older.

QFT.

I'm sure that most of us who are in our 20s grew up without having to "work" for our TV time, or for the toy we wanted. It's the nature of being a child.

The 14 year old of yesterday didn't have to work for his clothes, while the 14 year old of tomorrow won't have to work for his smart phone/laptop/whatever else. It's the result of increasing wealth and relativity.