ANSWERS: 43
  • I agree with you, and think that we should the best for our children that we can. We didn't choose to be born, nor do we choose to be psychologically impacted at a young age. Simply giving them food and shelter isn't enough.
  • I agree with your friend. You shouldn't spoil your child. trust me. they start being rotten brats.
  • you owe them love, trust and respect. But you have to temper what you buy them with what they need and why they need it. Kids can guilt you into buying alot of crap.
  • I think you owe them to the teach them to be grateful for whatever they have, designer clothes or not. You don't want to bring them up to be spoiled and ungrateful or make them feel as if the world owes them something.
  • You have no way of knowing whether they asked to be born or not. Some people believe that souls exist in a realm outside our knowledge (heaven). Maybe they did ask. I think that if you try to provide the best of everything you are teaching them a warped idea of what the real world is all about. Children thrive with simple things, love, food and adequate clothing. Anything else is superfluous, if not actually damaging to the proper management of the world resources.
  • I think that you owe them an upbringing that will help them lead a good satisfying life of their own.
  • I agree with your friend , children should feel safe and warm with clean clothes , food and love -- I don't agree with your answer
  • I think you should give your children the best you can. I wouldn't go so far as to say you OWE them the best of everythign money can buy. Seems to me that would possibly instill in them a sense of entitlement. If you have the money to do this, fine. But owing them the best of everything just because they did not ask to be born? No, I don't agree with that.
  • I agree with your friend, but kids have a way of persuading you to buy them some of the stuff they want.
  • I still live with my parents and I agree with your friend.
  • I think a parent should meet the child's needs until they can meet their own. Food, shelter, clothing, love, protection, all within the parents budget and capacity. Whether they asked to be born or not, they are here, so we do the best we can.
  • I believe the only thing you owe them is to teach them how to make it in this world, and then let them go make it. You also should realize that they owe you respect and obedience. It's not them in charge, you're the adult.
  • I think, as Robert Frost wrote, "Home is where when you have to go, they have to take you".
  • I have to say I really disagree with owing them designer clothes and the best of everything. That typically leads to entitlement. I don't think one should buy themselves out of house and home just to wear clothes with a high price tag. Not everyone can afford to dress this way, too. Should one feel guilty because they can't afford only name brand things? I don't think so. No one asked to be born, that doesn't entitle anyone to anything. We're all just here (if you believe that. Going by your logic, I'm guessing you do). I say give them what you can, but also give them to tools for life. That's much more important than a price tag on a pair of jeans.
  • I agree that as a parent, you are responsible for providing food and shelter, and a warm, loving home. Children need to be taught love and respect for their fellow man. And they need to learn to appreciate all that lives brings to them. I grew up middle class, not rich. My parents provided well for me, but I never really cared for expensive, designer clothes, and I still don't. Why do I need jeans that are over $100 when I find great looking jeans for less than $30 or even less than $20? I might like American Eagle, but I always buy it close-out at Value City. You do the best you can do, but in my opinion, if you spoil a child too much then some of them grow up expecting it from everyone. If you have the money and want to buy the expensive stuff, fine! I just don't see the point myself.
  • Nowhere in your question was the word "Love" used. I disagree with both of you. You owe your children your love, your support, your moral guidance, and your knowledge. None of us asked to be born. How does buying Calvin Klein jeans instead of Wrangler figure in?
  • I agree with your friend, but you owe them love, respect and guidance as well. You don't have to spoil them to be a great parent.
  • Kids deserve love, guidance, not designer clothes, and they need to learn the value of a dollar and good work ethics.
  • Designer jeans? Nobody needs designer jeans. It's just a name on the jeans that make them more expensive, they all cost the same to make. A t-shirt was being sold at a store the other day for $60...and I know for a fact that it cost only $6 the most to make. What children need is the love and support from their parents. They need to know that no matter what they do, they will never disappoint their parents and will always be the light of their life. Buying designer jeans does not accomplish this, it only adds fuel to the materialistic society that we live in. Some kids in the world eat one meal a day and wear nothing but rags everyday. I think kids here will do just fine with some less-profiled jeans.
  • I agree with your friend. Giving your kids the best of everything doesn't prepare them as well for a responsible adulthood. Kids need to learn some sense of the value of earning some of the things they want.
  • Your friend, but I agree with a recent answer that you're both missing "love." If they didn't ask to be born, I'd hope you'd love them enough to make up for the rudeness of hauling them in anyway. ;) Somewhere along the line I got old and I suddenly agree with at least some of my mother's decisions-- including that I was never allowed to have a television in my room and my mother never bought me any clothing except for snowboots that cost over $20. I'd like to think I'm a well adjusted young adult, with a job and an education and *without* a load of debt caused by buying $100 dollar pants and then taking out loans to buy books. I'm glad my mother never felt she owed me designer pants.
  • I'd say you both are wrong. Middle of the road is always best. They should have more than just the basics, but shouldn't have designer stuff, either. The latter will probably breed resentment and the former entitlement. The one of the most important things you can give your children is an appreciation of finances: You work hard to provide for your family. Make sure your children know that Gucci and Prada DO NOT grow on trees, and just because they didn't ask to be born doesn't mean you should turn them into materialistic entitled adults. There's nothing wrong with Target! They have some really cute outfits there!!
  • What you "owe" them is to guide them into being good people with a well founded sense of decency and values. What jeans you buy them has little bearing on this but I think it is important to help them realize the value of things, that not only material items but more importantly respect are things you earn.
  • Not being a parent I wouldn't consider myself an expert. But I think what you owe your kids is to prepare them for the adult world - and that's best done by teaching them that you can't always have everything you want.
  • Your friend.
  • I think you owe your kids what you can afford.
  • I have 4 daughers (10, 8, 6, 16 mnths). They do not own designer jeans and they do not get everything they want. We are not rich, but we're also not poor. I am truthful with my kids and they understand the meaning of bills, budgeting, and saving. If I can't afford something, I tell them. The things that we do buy them are GREATLY appreciated and cherished by them. The have many friends, are involved in sports and the church. They have a safe home, clean clothes, and a variety of good home cooked meals. My kids are happy, healthy, and beautiful. I'm proud of their manners, grades (all A's), and goals in life. They all say that their sister's are their best friends and everyday they tell us that we are the coolest parents in the whole wide world. We're setting them up to be responsible, independant, loving, and strong. That's the best things a parent can give. Designer jeans will end up in the trash, but respect, good financial skills, and an appreciation for work will last forever.
  • Well, you never asked to be born either; does that entitle you to bleed your parents dry financially? to feel that you are 'owed' something so trivial? to consume more than the earth can realistically supply? It's that sense of being entitled that is ruining the planet.
  • What kind of adults do you want your children to become? Greedy, selfish and superficial? That is exactly who they will be and it will be your fault for promoting the idea that namebrands somehow make them better than others..you should not buy into all that phony baloney designer jeans crap..I hope it's not too late..I hope you haven't already ruined your kids.
  • I agree with your friend. Give them everything just because they were born, no I can't agree with that.
  • In Short....We owe our kids a full stomach, security, education, and roof over their heads. Our priotity as parents is to teach and prep our kids for the adult world, with the love and understanding of a mother and father. All else(perks)are EARNED not given.
  • i don't believe in supporting sweat shops. i do believe that we should set an example to our children and provide them with the basic necessities to allow them to have a healthy and good life but also they need to learn to live in solidarity and be aware.
  • If your kids ever say "I didn't ask to be born," just say, "Well if you had, the answer would have been NO."
  • The best of everything is not necessarily the best thing for the child. Eventually the child is going to have to leave Mommy and Daddy's house and fend for his or herself.
  • I think you owe them unconditional love and whatever you can afford. Designer jeans don't mean anything if they don't know that no matter what you will love them forever.
  • Children (and the rest of us too!) only need what they NEED. Parent's wallets are not indebted to them or their materialistic desires beyond that.
  • I owe them the opportunity to grow into happy, healthy, repsonsible adults who are able to support themselves and their families. No child should be given designer jeans etc, they should earn so that they appreciate it. This young generation and their sense of entitlement makes me want to puke. If a few more kids wore route 66, instead true religion, they would be much more motivate to get off their butts, put their video games down, and go out and do something for themselves.
  • Life isn't fair. You owe your children guidance, safety, emotional support and respect. I live next to a high school and cannot tell you how spoiled so many (not all) of the "kids these days" are.
  • I think all you owe your children is to provide them with love and attention and teach them to have respect not only for others but for themselves. Being a good or bad parent is not measured on how much material stuff your kids have but rather on how they have turned out as an individual as they get older. True you can do the best you can and other outside forces can sway them down the wrong path in life but at least you can know in your heart you did your very best to teach them the right way.
  • I agree with both...
  • well I cannot say that I think designer jeans are the best you can give but Hopefully they are loved and comfortable secure
  • i see it both ways, i never asked to be born yet i don't want that fancy nice things. I like my warm bed and the cloths on my back. Your friend failed to mention the food we also need that and water to survive, true it would be nice to have the best of everything but its not necessary for our survival. I'm 16 and perfectly happy with having food, water, a place to sleep and a roof over my head.
  • Your friend. To give them the best of everything will make your children thinks the world owes them everything. Truth be told, nobody cares about your children but you. Not only that, but do you have the best of everything or even as nice/many things your children have?

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