Comments on: Born to Buy: The Invention of Modern Childhood

By: Mark Krusen

Mark Krusen — Mon, 12 May 2008 15:28:17 +0000

Great advice. We’ve had “open books” with our kids and spending money for years. Both of our kids know the value of a dollar and work hard for the dollars they make.

I think the one thing I would like to see my wife and I do and that would be get rid of the T.V. and cable all together. It would save money and we’d have lots of time to do more things together.

I like my high speed Internet though, are there better options than cable?

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 12 May 2008 13:15:43 +0000

I certainly agree with the TV issue. It’s sad to know that this interferes with communication. I remember going over to a friend’s house for thanksgiving and dinner was held at the TV. This really bothered me since I never grew up this way. Every family meal was held away from the TV. So sad. But one thing I’m not sure I agree with is how children should be treated like adults. They just dont have the maturity and life experience to make good decisions. Maybee if parents are super involved and teach them a lot but things like peer pressure/influence are too strong. I don’t even think the 18 y/o mark really qualifies children as adults in a lot of cases. I was there once and looking back…Besides, children’s rights are not what we think they really are. Among the rights, children have the right to be protected from dangers, etc. so it is the parents responsibility to make sure they are protected from the evils of things like media. Great series, thanks for doing it!!!

By: Cathy

Cathy — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:10:00 +0000

Just wanted to mention that I have really enjoyed your series on “Born to Buy”. Even though I don’t have any children, I still found your review of Schor’s book to be very informative and important for all of us. And as a result, I ordered the book last week from Amazon.com. (BTW, we don’t have cable TV. The money saved is spent on DVDs that we really want to watch.)

As a fairly new subscriber, I find myself looking forward to reading your blog every single day.

Thanks greatly.

Cathy G.

By: Greener Pastures: Responsible Personal Finance

Greener Pastures: Responsible Personal Finance — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:02:08 +0000

I agree. The family that hangs out together is better off. That’s what it’s all about.

Lisa

By: Vered - MomGrind

Vered - MomGrind — Sun, 11 May 2008 20:16:22 +0000

Great tips. The only thing we don’t do is gardening.. but we do sports together (mainly skiing, which we are all addicted to), which also creates strong family bonds.