Too Much Too Young

Last week saw the beginning of the summer holidays for the UK's youngsters as the schools finished for the summer. And for some children it is somewhat of a rites-of-passage ceremony, particularly for those who are in their final year of schooling.

In my cousin's year 6 class at a primary in southern Manchester, some of the parents wanted to celebrate their bright young things transition from primary to secondary school. A selection of the parents organised stretch limousines and hummers to pick up their daughters, as well as sons, outside the school gates on their last day of primary school and take them onto laser quest or for a meal at a restaurant in town. One of the vehicles parked up outside the classrooms included a bright pink playboy hummer.

And this doesn't just seem to be just an occurrence at this one quasi middle class primary school in Manchester. Through further research and speaking to other parents it appears to be a ritual eleven year old tweenagers expect and demand. But what happens when they are finishing secondary school, college and university? Demand a red carpet and arrival by helicopter?

The phenomena of parents with more money then sense appears to have been picked up on recently by the media, coinciding with BBC 3's adult season this month. One television programme that featured was My Child's Big Fat Birthday Party which saw mums and dads shedding thousands of pounds to celebrate their children's birthday parties. The collective age of the children in the programme was around ten.

A scene from the documentary included a group of mothers after a yoga class discussing the trend of the parties, with one lady rightly pointing out that giving kids everything on a silver platter when they are so young will cause a generation with no drive.

I remember taking up part time jobs from the age of sixteen so I could afford to save up and buy an I-pod, or have money to go out at the weekend. Now I've heard of children as young as nine years old who have their own I-phones and laptops. If children are given everything they want and more, what are they going to want to work for and have the self satisfaction of earning it? And what are they going to look forward to when they are older?

I wonder what rate pocket money is going for these days.