4 Reasons I Spoil My Children Without Regret

4 Reasons I Spoil My Children Without Regret

My son just turned three and is deep into the race car phase. One of my favorite things to do is to surprise him with a cool, new race car. They vary from cars found at the Dollar Store for, well, a dollar to the Disney Cars brand cars that run upwards of $5 a pop. I have a dresser drawer with a supply of new cars waiting to be presented to him. Only three years into motherhood, and it is safe to say that I am addicted to spoiling my children. I didn’t think I would be the type of mom who would allow for toys on non-birthdays/holidays or special treats like giant coffee shop cookies multiple times a week, but I totally am.4 Reasons I Spoil My CHildren

With my six month old daughter, the spoils come in the form of baby clothes … lots of them. I could open a children’s boutique with her closet alone, yet I can’t stop buying her outfits. Although she technically does not know she is being spoiled, I think deep down she realizes how precious she looks in those smocked bubbles and expresses gratitude to me with her calm demeanor and excellent sleeping patterns.

When my children are grown and my job raising them is for the most part completed, there may be aspects of my mommy performance that I will wish I could redo. But at this point in my life, I do not think spoiling my kids will be one of them.

There are four reasons I don’t regret spoiling my children:

1. The things I buy are relatively inexpensive.

I am not being financially irresponsible spoiling my children. Most of the toys and treats for my son are a few dollars at most. The majority of the outfits I buy for my daughter are either on sale or second hand from consignment shops or online resale boards (where once I purchased a romper that retails for $60 for a mere $3). I know I am privileged to have the disposable income to afford these little luxuries. I also know that circumstances change in a heartbeat, so I am choosing to enjoy a little frivolity.

2. I do not buy things on command.

I choose when and how I spoil my kids. Sure, after my son had a surgical procedure, I took him to Toys R Us and he walked out with three toys instead of one because I was so grateful things went smoothly, but normally I do not cave into my son’s requests for toys. If he sees a commercial for a toy and says that he wants it, I tell him to put it on his Christmas list (knowing that he will forget about it). When shopping, he always asks for toys or candy/chips. The majority of the time he leaves stores with a pouting face and sometimes a tantrum that has the other patrons plugging their ears. At three years old, my son already has a tendency to have tantrums a la Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka, and I do not condone that behavior.

Spoiling3. Time is fleeting.

In a few years, a $10 giant bubble wand will not utterly delight my son the way it does now. His eyes won’t light up with excitement as he runs gleefully around the grass popping bubbles with his face. In a few years, the little treasures I find for him may be met with an eye roll or tossed into the junk drawer in his room. My baby girl? She won’t always be able to wear those sweet rompers. Before I know it, she will be in jeans and a t-shirt, and I will be reminiscing about the days when I had my very own living doll to dress in flowers and ruffles and angel-sleeved gowns.

4. It benefits me.

Do you know what can get pretty darn boring? Playing race cars with a three year old over and over and over again. If on a random Wednesday, I decide to buy a $15 race car launcher from Amazon, I am not buying it for my son. I am buying it for myself because that launcher will make things more fun for me than aimlessly rolling the cars around saying, “Vroom vroom!” And those outfits for my daughter? I get a thrill out of flipping things. That $3 romper I bought on eBay? I will get $25 for it when I resell it, and that will make me very happy.

I know my children are spoiled. I also know there is a difference between being spoiled and being a spoiled brat. My job is to avoid them turning into the latter. I am fairly certain I can do that, but if you don’t hear from me in a while, you might find me in Willy Wonka’s furnace commiserating with Veruca Salt’s dad.

Do you find yourself spoiling your children a lot? If so, do you ever regret your actions?

Marie
Marie is the owner of Little Hometown, a company specializing in locally themed baby swaddles and apparel. Prior to opening her business, Marie was a professional event planner turned stay-at-home mom. She spent nearly a decade living in New York City, where she met her husband, Jeff (a New England native). Early in their relationship, Marie told Jeff that New Orleans is the only place where she would want to raise her children. As soon as she got pregnant, they started shopping for houses. They moved back in December of 2012, welcomed their son in 2013 and their daughter in 2015. Marie now spends her days entertaining her kids with silly songs, desperately attempting to stay organized, and balance her life as a work-at-home mom.

4 COMMENTS

  1. My sister always spoiled my son. From an ITouch when he was 3 to a tablet that does more than my computer at 11. She always said, “he will be spoiled, but he will not be rotten.” and she was right. The ITouch was carefully taken care of, and lasted till he was 8! The tablet not only allows him to work faster on school assignments, but he is always glad to lend it to other student who don’t have one for class work. He is one of the most selfless kids I know. Like you, I didn’t give in to tantrums, and neither did anyone else in my family. Its not in what exactly you do to spoil them, but how you spoil them that’s important.

  2. I tried to give my daughter everything. Being a single parent with no other support, everything wasn’t always a lot. Yet she really enjoyed whatever I gave her. Now I’m a Grandma and I joyfully get to spoil my grandson. If you teach them the good things and how to love, spoiling doesn’t spoil them.

  3. I love it. My family didn’t have much when I was growing up, so I went through life embarrassed about what I couldn’t have. It’s the way it had to be, & it made me appreciate everything. Now that I’m a parent, I’m not rich, but I do want to spoil my kids without them becoming rotten…it’s great to see them confident and willing to share the things they are blessed with. Thanks for your perspective:)

  4. Totally with you. I spoil mine too. At 4 and 7 they’ve driven cross country, traveled to London, Paris, & Edinburgh. This summer, Disney Alaska cruise. I want their eyes to be wide open in life. I also love to buy them little treats for no reason. The 99c pack of baseball cards has entertained my son for well over 48 hours this weekend. The dollar store solar dancing unicorn flying over a plastic castle continues to delight my daughter too. My mother made me work to earn everything I ever wanted. I always wished she just gave me things because I was me, her daughter, and good enough for a treat for that reason alone. I spend my life trying to prove I’m good enough. I want my kids to always know they’re good enough. Xoxo

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