This morning I was flipping through the channels and saw MTV had a marathon of Super Sweet Sixteen on. For those of you who don't know what this show is, it is a reality show where the star is a fifteen year old girl who is planning her sweet sixteen party.
Of course, the do tons of little segments with the girls asking for various gifts and different entertainment for the party etc. And I've seen the show before and although it is something that seemed a little ridiculous, I always just figured that was how the "other half" lived. This morning, however, was the topper for me.
::climbs on to soapbox::
It was a girl named stephanie who came across as an absolute spoiled brat. Who knows if that is really her personality or if that was just selective editing and the stress of the situation. But, even assuming that it was not all her fault, the situation just seemed absurd. She had an "invitation" party where she had a special costume and performers etc just to hand out the invitations.
And we're not even talking about the actual party itself. It was a themed costume party with dancing and masks and the whole deal in a very fancy place. Total price tag? 300,000 dollars. That's right. Three hundred thousand dollars. I wanted to be sick. What any sixteen year old girl could have done to deserve that kind of party at age sixteen is impossible for me to comprehend. Most kids are lucky if they get a party that costs more than a thousand or two thousand dollars. Instead this girl is getting one that costs 200-300x what most lucky kids are getting.
We really need to reconsider what we are doing as a society when we have these kinds of outrageous expenses. I am the first person that will defend your right to have extravagant parties and spend your money the way you want to.
But I think that doing things like this is harmful for the kids both financially and psychologically AND also bad for society in general because it sends this message that this is normal and that things like this should be expected to be done by parents for their kids. Neither one of these statements is reasonable or fair.
If you're going to spoil your kid, at least lets not make a display of it on TV.
::off soapbox::
Of course, the do tons of little segments with the girls asking for various gifts and different entertainment for the party etc. And I've seen the show before and although it is something that seemed a little ridiculous, I always just figured that was how the "other half" lived. This morning, however, was the topper for me.
::climbs on to soapbox::
It was a girl named stephanie who came across as an absolute spoiled brat. Who knows if that is really her personality or if that was just selective editing and the stress of the situation. But, even assuming that it was not all her fault, the situation just seemed absurd. She had an "invitation" party where she had a special costume and performers etc just to hand out the invitations.
And we're not even talking about the actual party itself. It was a themed costume party with dancing and masks and the whole deal in a very fancy place. Total price tag? 300,000 dollars. That's right. Three hundred thousand dollars. I wanted to be sick. What any sixteen year old girl could have done to deserve that kind of party at age sixteen is impossible for me to comprehend. Most kids are lucky if they get a party that costs more than a thousand or two thousand dollars. Instead this girl is getting one that costs 200-300x what most lucky kids are getting.
We really need to reconsider what we are doing as a society when we have these kinds of outrageous expenses. I am the first person that will defend your right to have extravagant parties and spend your money the way you want to.
But I think that doing things like this is harmful for the kids both financially and psychologically AND also bad for society in general because it sends this message that this is normal and that things like this should be expected to be done by parents for their kids. Neither one of these statements is reasonable or fair.
If you're going to spoil your kid, at least lets not make a display of it on TV.
::off soapbox::
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