SPOILING CHILDREN CAN LEAD TO BANKRUPTCY
Children can be expensive. They can be especially expensive when you do not know when to quit with the gift giving. Parents need to learn how to say “no” and stick to it. Spoiling children with expensive gifts can eventually lead to bankruptcy.
Bankruptcy Can Start with Santa
Excessive gift-giving during Christmas starts a bad pattern of financial irresponsibility at an early age. Young parents feel the need to spoil their children during Christmas. The parents suffer even early-on by making bad financial choices with over gift giving. The children even suffer worse because they can become spoiled and will expect it for the rest of their lives.
Children are satisfied with very simple gifts. It is the thought that counts. Children will usually be satisfied with whatever gift you give them. By making children cherish what they own, they will not constantly seek more than they can afford when they grow into adulthood. This can cause patterns of bankruptcy to develop with both the parents and the children throughout their lives.
Aging Parents File Bankruptcy Over Their Adult Children
If a parent never learns to say “no,” this pattern of financial irresponsibility can continue throughout both the parent and the child’s adult life. Bankruptcy can often be traced to parents wasting too much of their financial resources on their adult children’s needs.
It is important to be financially responsible with your children starting at the earliest age possible. If you are not modeling and teaching financial responsibility to your children, your children will likely always be needy and out of control with their finances. They will always come to you to bail them out. They will be demanding and angry. They will expect their parents to bail them out or provide the same as they always have in the past.
Conclusion: Start Young
You must model pattern of financial temperament with your children as early as possible. Although responsible gift-giving is an enjoyable experience, the gift-giving must always be restrained. Without this restraint, you could be setting up a future where both you and your children will need relief in bankruptcy.
