Last week I was at a friend's house watching "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," starring a pale Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka and a small Freddie Highmore as Charlie Bucket. Highmore's character is the single pleasant child among the five who find Golden Tickets, but one of the four repulsive kids makes me cringe inside and out: Veruca Salt. Spoiled rotten by her parents, all she has to do is tell daddy that she wants it and it's hers, no matter the price or difficulty.
The very next day I was out shopping for a comforter set (yay college!) when I overheard a mom and her two kids talking a few feet away. The daughter looked about 13, and the son about 11.
"Oh, that's pretty! I want a new bed set!" said the girl.
"You guys just got new ones like two months ago, you don't like them already?" the mom frowned.
Gesturing to the picture on the comforter package modeling a room with entirely matching decor, the son went, "I want all of the stuff in my room to match like this!"
Watching them proceed to browse the bedding section, I felt rather uneasy on the inside. While it's not my business how others choose to raise their children, the incident reminded me of Veruca Salt - especially looking at how much a good bedding package costs.
My family isn't poor by any means, but stamping my foot and saying, "I want that!" as a child rarely worked, if never. They got me a lot of awesome stuff, but I never did get that pony or $200 doll house. And I know saying "I want it" certainly wouldn't fly today (I tried it last night to score a box of Pop Tarts, it did not work.). And for that, I'm thankful.
Kids are growing up today in a world where technology makes most things instantaneous, but it's important they learn that this doesn't mean everything is instantly theirs. My parents taught me that. I'm a hard worker because my parents taught me that's what it takes to get the things you really want. They helped me feel and be more independent and strong-willed. They showed me that no one is going to hand you the things you want all the time, you have to be motivated enough to reach for them. Through them, I learned that you can't always get what you want (i.e. a ridiculously expensive doll house), and that's not the end of the world.
I appreciate these lessons now more than I ever would have appreciated a pony when I was six.
Spoiling kids is never the answer. I'm not saying don't give a kid presents ever, I'm saying that parents need to be reasonable. Be kind, but not a pushover. Give them all your love but not all your money.
Thank you Mom and Dad for not raising me to be a Veruca Salt.
