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matthew_romoser 03-Oct-05, 12:51	File this one under .... .... in the "Oh My God! Are you serious??" category. I don't know what it was like 10, 20, or 30 years ago, but having kids today means that you get on all kinds of *AHEM* wonderful mailing lists. We must get 2 to 3 catalogs a DAY from companies targeting middle to upper-class suburbanites with, apparently, too much money burning a hole in their pocket. Most of this stuff in these catalogs are "status" items (mostly toys and clothing) that are intended to engender envy in the eyes of your friends, family and neighbors and their children. Usually, this is just overpriced stuff that is somewhat "fancier" than you could get at Walmart or a Tag Sale. Though, to 3 year olds, they don't know the difference between a $195 plush catalog rocking horse and wooden / plastic one you bought for $2 at a Tag Sale. They enjoy each equally (Parenting Secret #1 .... Children don't care what it costs, they'll play with it ... and get bored with it just as much). You could purchase your kid the $40 brass toy telescope and the $120 living room "tent". Or you could just give them a paper towel roll (sans paper towels) and a blanket thrown over a couple of chairs and they'll have just as much fun!   Nevertheless, some of the stuff in these catalogs still amazes me. I was recently floored by what I recently saw in an FAO Schwarz catalog (the famous NYC Toy Store featured in the movie "Big" with Tom Hanks with the Dance On Piano ..... Only $250,000 in the catalog!!!! .... No kidding!!!) But ... the dance on piano wasn't the thing that floored me. I can accept one "huge" specialty item in their catalog - esp. since it's their trademark item. No, the one that got me was "Get Your Own Miniature Pony". Yes, for $15,000 FAO Schwarz will send your child his or her own Pony!!! Not a pretend, stuffed pony, but a living, breathing HORSE! FROM A CATALOG!!! From the catalog: "FAO Scharz brings that dream within reach. This miniature purebred makes a perfect companion for young horse lovers. .... Comes ready to be ridden with monogrammed FAO Schwarz halter and lead, and a Western saddle ..." Holy crap!! Are you serious??? Can you imagine your little girl reading this shortly after you asked her, "What would you like for Christmas, Katherine?" Not to mention that you're purchasing a PET without even seeing it first!! Turning a living being into an effectively "disposable" catalog item is bordering on pure cruelty and exploitation if you ask me. Ugh. The breeder(s) who agreed to this should be utterly ashamed of themselves. FAO Schwarz .... A catalog for parents who want to purchase their childrens' affection and attention back away from their Nanny. Personally it makes me ill. As always .... my 2 cents. Matt
matthew_romoser 03-Oct-05, 13:19	I've never .... .... felt personally insulted by a catalog before, but this one came close. Hmmmmm. Matt
chuckventimiglia 05-Oct-05, 06:58	Yes, I agree!! There are many more practical things that parents "with money" can do for their kids. All things like you describe above do is to widen the gap [real and perceived] between the rich and the very poor. Eduacation and educational things seem to be things of the past. Parents today spend more on frivilous things than what kids really need to make it in the world.
tiktaalik 10-Oct-05, 02:01	How about credit cards? My kids have gotten offers for credit cards by the time they are 12. Maybe the catalog and the credit cards for kids go hand in hand )) (Re: Parenting secret #1. It's also important that you have Santa leave the boxes that toys come in for the same reason. They're usually about as much fun as the toys.)
chuckventimiglia 10-Oct-05, 06:35	As I have said many times before my son..... was the "teen from hell". I have also said that he has straigthened up, married, good job, his own house and 1 son and a daughter on the way. Who would have thought?   Anyhow, when he was 16 the bank allowed him to open a checking account/credit card without parental approval. He flaunted this to me so I paid a visit to the bank. I asked the bank manager about this. He told me that he approved it and all was in order. I told him: "How can you approve this without parental approval?" He assured me that my son did not need parental approval to open a checking account and get a credit card. I then asked the bank manager: "Who is responsible for bounced checks or unpaid credit card charges?" He calmly told me that my son was of course. I said "And if he cannot pay it then there is no parental responsibility?" He hemmed and hawed and finally said: "You're right!!" So went the checking account and credit card.
matthew_romoser 10-Oct-05, 21:20	My son's gotcha beat ... << My kids have gotten offers for credit cards by the time they are 12. Maybe the catalog and the credit cards for kids go hand in hand )) >> Geoff is only 4 and has already received several credit card offers. Sickening.   I once heard a news story about a man applying for, and receiving, several credit cards for his dog. Apparently the dog paid his bills on time and had a great credit rating! I wonder where he shopped? Matt
daverundle 11-Oct-05, 03:11	credit cards There was a story in our local paper about a guy who ran up £60,000 in credit card debt (getting close to a $100,000) on 14 yep 14 cards some in different names!!! Plus some in his wifes name (whose signature he forged). He then died & the banks insisted that she was responsible for the half of the debt on the cards in her name!! The main bank who had issued him with several of the cards did concede there may have been a problem issuing so many cards to 1 customer. No shit sherlock!!!
chuckventimiglia 11-Oct-05, 06:43	Here in the US unfortunately if a couple is..... married then both are responsible for debts incurred by either one.
leo_london 18-Oct-05, 05:58	Kids today... This was a post in another club ( thankyou iceman )...I thought it so good, it would be worth repeating here. Although American in " flavour " nearly everything rings true of a British childhood not so many years ago. Quote.... To all the kids who survived the 1930's, 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's! First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes. Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints. We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags. Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight because we were always outside playing! We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K. We would spend hours building our go-karts out of scraps and then ride down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms......WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents. We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever. We were given bb guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of, in fact; they actually sided with the law! This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all! And you are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS! You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good...and while your at it, forward it to your kids so they know how brave their parents were.
chuckventimiglia 18-Oct-05, 12:19	Yes, that is very true!! I may or may not have told you this before. I know that I have said that my son [now 27] was the "teen from hell."   Not a laughing matter it was true. His two best buddies or brothers as he called them were protected by their parents where my son was not. I actually had him arrested 2 times to the chagrin of neighbors and his mother. Today my son is 27, married, 1 son and a daughter due on Dec. 20. He owns his own home and has a very good job as a licensed electrician. His buddies or brothers have a different story. Rene is 27 and just finished 10 years in the State prison for attempted murder. Sergio is literally brain dead. He went from smoking pot to sniffing glue. His brain functions have to be severly limited. At 28 he hands out rolls at the nearest fast food place. I was hard on my son because he needed someone to corral him in. His buddies were protected by parents and as a result were ruined. The govt. says you cannot hit your kids: physical abuse. You cannot yell at them: psychological abuse. You cannot make faces at them: another form of psychological abuse. I am waiting for the govt. to say "You cannot have kids!!" Remember that insanity is inherited. You get it from your kids.

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