for example some people I know spend around £500-700 just on a pram! And can often spend thousands of pounds for a nursery. There is this assumption around that if you do not buy the latest baby products then you are not a good parent and not a yummy mummy (or daddy lol)
Do you think this attitude should change? And is an unhealthy attitude to have?
For example my mum said that when I was born she got a second hand pram from her sister-in-law and it lasted for many years. Also clothes would pass from household to household around the village so that new clothes wouldn’t always have to be brought. This wasn’t a long time ago either only 80s/90s.
What is your opinion on this, are parents spending too much?
Of course they are, ever since Mothercare started up.
http://www.mothercareplc.com/company-history
Parents are spending it for themselves, not for the baby, Time was just having the baby was enough for most people without having all the expensive tat that goes with it these days – and it is hardly sustainable to run out and buy it all over agin if you have another one.
Yes, parents are spending too much. Sometimes, all a baby is want is to roll around on the floor instead of being put into one toy or special seat to another. We need to let our babies be free and see what they want.
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Well, I don’t think that me and my husband spent too much ourselves. But when you’re in your 30’s and the various parents involved have despaired for years that they will ever get to be grandparents, they like to spend money on the baby. So yeah, I have a yuppie stroller and a pricey car seat and a fancy swing, etc. But I wouldn’t have them if I had to buy them myself.
You can certainly get by with much, much less and many people do. We’ve spent the last year getting rid of a lot of stuff as well, it just starts to crap up your house after while.
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I have a tendancy to agree with you. BUT with a first child it is easy to want to get the best! I am expecting my 2nd (my husbands first) with my first child I was given bags of clothes, a second hand cot (new mattress) but a new buggy. 12 years later no 2 is on the way, we havent spent a huge amount on a new buggy, but we have got a new cot, was given two black bags of almost new clothes (some actually still have the tags on) but I have had to stop my husband going bonkers, he wanted to spend £200 on a monitor but have talked him out of that one!!!
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Of course they are, ever since Mothercare started up.
http://www.mothercareplc.com/company-history
Parents are spending it for themselves, not for the baby, Time was just having the baby was enough for most people without having all the expensive tat that goes with it these days – and it is hardly sustainable to run out and buy it all over agin if you have another one.
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Since we had no garage when my oldest was a baby, our stroller got left outside a lot and it’s good that I didn’t pay much for it. I agree that we often equate money with parenting quality which is bogus.
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yeh i guess parents do spend too much on things, but thats because these days we are lucky enough to have well designed equipment that are usually worth the money. my pram was 300 and something pound with the car seat aswell from mamas and papas which was good because it was on sale, its a really good pram and i couldnt fault it. i dont buy expensive things generally but if it costs quite a bit and i think its worthwhile ill buy it, not to keep up with whats good at the moment but because i like it and think my daughter will benefit from it, im not interested in all the latest stuff and i dont let it effect my parenting style as its irrelvent to that. im not one for second hand things unless its minor like toys and good condition clothes, but everything my daughter has is brand new and she does get a lot of things but i like to spoil her. shes only 5 months old but i want her to have what she wants and needs because i never could as a kid, and we are financially able to do that so i intend to. it doesnt feel like im wasting money though because its going to my daughter id willingly spend every penny i have on her even if i have to go without something myself. nowadays there are a wider variety of equipment and things you buy for babies that you never used to be able to like bouncy vibrating chairs for example. everything changes all the time so we cant relate to what it was like years ago if we were babies ourself or not even born, and one day people will look back and think the same thing about today.
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I think most parents spend more than they have to, and its usually 1st time parents. They get very excited and everything has to match and they want to pick it all out themselves (which you can’t do with hand-me-downs).
I have a friend who is pregnant for the 1st time with twins, and she didn’t want ANY of my hand-me-downs from my kids! She bought everything brand new.
My co-worker got pregnant after my friend, and its her 2nd baby. She took ALL my hand-me-downs for free.
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It is rediculous spendingn$500 and more on a pram or stroller which will only last a short time. Parents try to outdo one another. A $30 stroller will still get you to the same place as a $500 stroller.
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One only has to look around when shopping or watch the ads to see how parents feel encouraged to buy a space age pram or stroller.
I spent almost £500 on my first child’s pram but wouldn’t call it a waste as at the time I was very happy with my purchase. I think people have a tendency to go a bit mad with spending on their first child because they don’t know what they really need and having a baby is a new experience for them! Now I’m pregnant with my second child I am making more careful purchases, only buying what I really need and looking for bargains!
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I think they do, actually.
Of course, it’s their money to do whatever they want with, but around here I see loads of people who aren’t working, walking around with all the latest, expensive, prams.
When I had my son, at the same time as my sister, I earned more money than her. But, she had to go out and buy a £500 pram (and this was 11 years ago). I was quite happy to get a pram that my gran had got for me out of the charity shop. I wasn’t interested in parading around with some fancy pram. I just wanted something that my son could sleep in, whilst I pushed him around.
I think it’s unecessary, and a lot of the people who buy these things are getting themselves into debt over it. They feel the need to buy the best of gear, for some reason.
My sister still slags me over it, saying that it looked like a bus, lol. And also the fact that people gave me clothes for him to wear. But, she’s the one that got herself into debt, whereas I’m the one that put my money into buying my own place and actually owning something that I can keep forever, and will increase in value.
Obviously, people can do what they want. But, I don’t think they’re doing it for their children. I think they’re doing it for themselves, to prove something, or to show off.
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