Endlessly spending $$$ on kids

I sold a mountain bike today to someone on Craigslist. Dh and I met them at a police station parking lot and it turned out to be a father and his kid, about 12 years old. As the father paid he said that he hopes it works out as his kid "smashed the last one" I don't know if it was an accident with his last bike or he left it in the driveway and it got backed over, but parents never know when the lastest fun item will be a goner and they will have to buy another. Nowadays even if it was leaving the bike behind the SUV in the driveway the parents have to pony up and buy a replacement.

Kids have no respect for their property these days. They destroy everything. Forget bikes, they throw around smartphones and tablets and all sorts of expensive gadgets with abandon, and if something breaks they don't give a shit because they just know moo and duh will cave and get them another one.

They never seem to have to wait for anything either, like wait for Christmas or birthdays or whatever, they usually seem to get what they want when they want it

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yummynotmummy
They never seem to have to wait for anything either, like wait for Christmas or birthdays or whatever, they usually seem to get what they want when they want it

Insuring the next generation will be full of 18 and 19 year olds who are frustrated when they learn their minimum wage job isn't nearly enough to replace everything they break and who look into nefarious ways to earn back the shit they take for granted to be instantly replaced because...childhood. It is hard enough for a mature and responsible 18 or 19 year old to make the transition to being an adult and paying basic bills.

I will never understand this shit. Why are parents so scared of their kids throwing tantrums that they either buy them everything they want or replace destroyed/lost items without so much as giving the kid a stern talking-to? My mother did this with me when I was a kid - she'd just buy me shitloads of toys because I said "gimme gimme gimme" and then she'd bitch about how much they all cost and how poor she was because of it, and she would always make it sound like it was my fault. Uhhh, just because I say I want something doesn't mean you have to get it. Contrary to what she or any other parent might think, their kids do not make them buy shit for them.

Why are so many parents allergic to the word NO? If a kid wants something, whatever happened to telling them to wait for their birthday or X-mess (if they're good), or giving the kid an allowance for doing chores so they can earn the coveted item (which usually leads to the kid taking much better care of it because it wasn't free)? Why do parents just indulge every bullshit whim their kids have? Delayed gratification is something we all need to learn, preferably at an early age. Otherwise, we're going to have a generation of young adults going batshit nuts because they can't have (thing) right fucking now all the time.

Tell them no, end of story. If they scream and cry nonstop, then slap them until not getting their own way every single second becomes preferable to getting the shit beaten out of them. Trust me, they will learn very quickly to keep their face holes shut and their greediness to themselves.