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Kids and Money

Recently I was in a conversation with this small girl (7-8 years old) and the small talk included asking about who her friends in school were. She goes to a nice school - nice as in expensive and difficult to get into.

Me: So who are your friends in school?

Kiddo: A, B and C. Do you know what A, B and Cs parents do?

Me: No.

Kiddo: A's father has PPP hotel, and if I go to her house in the afternoon, I can eat food delivered from PPP. Isn't that great?

Me: Yes! And what about others....

Kiddo: B's father has a mobile phone gallery...and you know, C's father is blah blah blah.

Me: Oh wow! It must be nice.

Kiddo: Yeah, B totally gives me models (sample pieces) of the latest handsets, you know!

Me: Great!

But what strikes me in the conversation is that this girl is aware of not just who her friends are, but also of the relative wealth of the friends....

Make no mistake, this girl is very sweet..but she seems to be having money seeping into her conversations more often than necessary.



^WiseGuy^
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Comments

  1. S1 May 2009 at 17:51

    perhaps a late change of name to 'Paris' might be in order?

    hope she doesn't turn into a stupid spoiled umm... does your tag say "niece"? Ok, shutting up now.

    she sounds like an annoyingly sweet kid who is obssessed with money. Was I like that at her age? Honestly, I can't remember. We grew up poor, then got better. Dad is an example of classic rags to riches. Now, he's freaking famous. And I'm still poor. AH, irony.

    I'd prefer a kid who was obssessed with say, measuring wealth in pc games, but hey, that's just me. =)

    ReplyDelete
  2. one-hit_wonder1 May 2009 at 18:32

    Wow, I agree with the 'Paris' name change. But I guess kids emulate what they see from the adults in their lives?

    If (ha) I had a kid, he or she would have a hard time maintaining that attitude, since DH and I grew up in a peasant culture. (But maybe things have already changed much since then...)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Patterson Family1 May 2009 at 18:42

    Wow! That is a crazy conversation with a 7-8 year old. I don't think I had a clue about that when I was that age.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful Mess1 May 2009 at 21:02

    I've had a conversation like that with a child. It makes me so angry when a child is so concerned about money. I know they are a product of their upbringing so I try not to get angry with the child and wish their parents were so careless about instilling values.

    ReplyDelete
  5. nancy1 May 2009 at 22:14

    oh boy. i'm just kinda shocked and all i've got to say is "oh boy". my mind is swirling. I hope she doesn't grow up like this and her parents take an active role in helping her learn the real value of life.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dora2 May 2009 at 01:28

    Yuck! Although, I really don't blame the child, I blame the PARENTS! My boss does not know how to say no to his children. He recently bought his 7 year old a cell phone. Now, in the case of divorced parents or something like that, I could understand, but that is not so in this case. This is an intact family. The girl goes to school (where I'm SURE she's not allowed to use the phone, is picked up and brought home by the nanny, where if she wanted to call her working parents, she could use the home phone. But this child just HAD to have her own cell phone! Yeah, right!

    ReplyDelete
  7. S2 May 2009 at 02:49

    WoW, I hate it when kids say shit like that. It's not right.
    She's 7 for god sake.
    I blame the parents too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. WiseBursche2 May 2009 at 10:40

    Shalini - she is not my niece...my niece is still babbling non-adult language. Paris? I will suggest...

    OHW - Yes, parental grooming has a lot of effect...

    The Patterson's - Me too. I was never aware or conscious of how much my parents earned, nor how much we had, or what my friends had.

    Beautiful Mess - I talk to the kiddo frequently...and it is this conversation that had all lights blinking like hell. I am an outsider. If I could notice it, why can't her parents?

    Nancy - Mindboggling, isn't it? Yes, her parents are people who have suddenly discovered loads of money.

    Dora - totally agree with you. This girl's monthly pocket money is more than fifty percent of what my domestic help gets for a month!!!

    S (Fit and Infertile) - Yes, I found it unpalatable.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aunt Becky2 May 2009 at 21:31

    My eldest has a friend like that. Every single time he comes over, he asks what specific things cost, then brags about the money in his bank account. It's really weird.

    ReplyDelete

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