Big Kid

For the most part, I don't care how other parents parent their own kids. After all, what does it have to do with MY kid? But I am starting to hate parents who spoil their kids. 

So I have to say a company that's claiming they have a list of the cities with the most spoiled kids (and of course the cities with the least spoiled kids) made me curious. Could we be looking at a giant warning sign for parents who don't want to be sucked into buying their kids a bunch of crap they don't need because we want to keep up with the Joneses?

The thing is, I never thought my kid would be spoiled. Not even when we made the decision to be one and done. And then she started elementary school. In came the wants. No. Wait. The needs! "Mommy, I need this," she insists. Because, of course, so-and-so in her class has it, so therefore, she must have it too. You see the problem?

It's like a virus that spreads. One parent spoils their kid, and the next kid starts whining, and finally THAT parent gets guilted into making a purchase, and so on and so on. For the most part, we just say no. That's our jobs. But there's only so much whining one can take, and we all have to give in some time. Let's just say there was a lot of "but everyone has one" that led to the handheld gaming system charging in my living room outlet right now.

Tracking "spoiled kids" by city doesn't surprise me in the least. So here's the skinny:

Bundle, the compiler of the spoiled kids list, used the average amounts spent at stores that sell toys, clothing, and other kid accoutrements to judge whether parents were going overboard on their kids. Their data puts Manhattan at the top of the list, followed by Brooklyn, New York; then Miami, Florida. Minneapolis and Tulsa round out the top five. Los Angeles -- home to all those celebrity parents -- makes the top 10, as does Dallas, Texas, land of living large.

I was set to say that it was all about the cost of living -- Manhattan, after all, is an expensive place, so people are going to have to spend more on a box of blocks, right? But get this. Number five "most spoiled" city Tulsa, Oklahoma, has a cost of living that's just about equal to Madison, Wisconsin, the city that gets the billing of LEAST spoiled in the country. Not to mention the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are a total split -- the former is on the most spoiled list, but the latter is full of parents who are making their kids make do.

So what should you do if you don't want to have to listen to a kid harping (and be the mean mom who says "NO" all the time?)? Avoid the following:

• Miami, FL
• Minneapolis, MN
• Tulsa, OK
• Dallas, TX
• Atlanta, GA
• Los Angeles, CA
• San Diego, CA
• Ft. Worth, TX

Now move to Madison, Wisconsin; St. Paul, Minnesota; or Milwaukee, Wisconsin. They're the three cities where spoiling is truly out of style!

How do you avoid spoiling your kids?

Image via Kevin Briody/Flickr