First off, I can’t believe that my oldest will be celebrating her fourth birthday in January. Second, why is she already acting like a teenager?? Like most parents, you want to give your children the world on their special day…and I totally get that. But, to what extent do you give in to their wants and requests? I want to know: do you buy your children what they ask for on their birthday?

Growing up, we were never wealthy or well off. We were always in the middle; but never made enough to have money stored away. I totally remember going to Target with my mom when I was a kid and pointing out all of the things that I wanted. I was often rejected because the Cabbage Patch Kid or Barbie wasn’t on sale, or that we couldn’t afford it. (Sounds like the majority of us mamas now, am I right?) I didn’t have all of the toys in the world, or the fancy game systems like most kids had, but we did alright.

Now that I am an adult, and a parent…I feel like I want to give my child all of the things that I was never able to have. (Most of us can relate to this, I’m sure.) With my husband gone 12-13 hours in a day, I feel the #momguilt of them not having both of us around them all of the time. As you know, I do some work from home and that can also take time away from playing or doing things with my kids.

At this point in our lives, I would say that I am guilty of spoiling my kids with SMALL trinkets and toys any time we go out. It makes me happy to see them happy, if even for an hour or two. A token of appreciation for the time that they allow me to work (be on my laptop, take their photos, take blog photos, etc) literally keeps me sane during the day.

When it comes time for birthdays, I notice more and more how she responds to things she sees on the TV, or in the stores. She asks me for things for her birthday ALL THE TIME! I told her that she better have 100 friends coming to her birthday party in order to fulfill her wishlist of toys. My thinking is that we should be able to get her 1-2 items off of her list. Kids forget about all of the things they ask for, and they certainly get excited when they DO get something they wanted.

I think I am safe to say that my kids are not at the spoiled level, but they are not at the deprived level. Luckily for my youngest, she can not talk yet, so she is content to play with her older sister’s toys. These small trinkets in life are so meaningful to a child at the moment. You just hope that whatever you give them is enough to make a memory that lasts.

Do you buy your children what they ask for on their birthday? Do you impulse buy for them to keep them happy?

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