The May issue of Reader's Digest discusses the effects of consumerism on today's youth. The gist of the article: Parents give kids everything they want, and the results aren't good. Kids are spoiled, yes, but also (i) they keep wanting more and more, (ii) they grow up unable to deal with disappointment, (iii) they grow up with a distorted sense of entitlement, and (iv) they're made extremely vulnerable to mass advertising (little Pavlovian dogs). Here are a few excerpts (no link available):
A growing number of psychologists, educators, and parents think it's time to stop the madness and start teaching kids about what's really important--values like hard work, delayed gratification, honesty and compassion. "It's almost like parents have lost their parenting skills," says [a founder of Parent Engagement Network].
Parents who overindulge their kids set them up to be more vulnerable to future anxiety and depression.
The average American child sees 40,000 commercials a year. That's in addition to fast-food outlets in schools, product placements in TV shows and movies, even corporate sponsorship of sports stadiums. . . The marketers call it "cradle-to-grave brand loyalty."
[Today's parents] work more hours; at the end of a long week, it's tempting to buy peace with 'yes,' and not mar precious family time with conflict.
[Says one psychologist], "Children need limits on their behavior because they feel better and more secure when they live within a certain structure." Older children . . . learn self-control by watching how others, especially parents, act.
Few parents ask kids to do chores. They think their kids are already overwhelmed by social and academic pressures. . . But kids who have no responsibilities never learn some of life's most basic lessons: Every individual can be of service to others, and life has meaning beyond one's own immediate happiness.
