I spoil my boys. What else are we supposed to do? I don't see a problem giving them what they ask for, provided they show appreciation and whatever toy has some value. I personally hate Legos, they are a pain in the ass to assemble, won't stay assembled in the hands of a 10 year old and eventually you will step on a piece. But they do teach spatial orientation, engineering skills and strengthen finger dexterity to name a few positive things. Both boys have gone through periods where they absorb anything Lego. I say OK, my wife just looks away.
This of course is superseded by video games. I had them, I loved them. From Atari 2600 onward, they are just a part of life. I've lost track of how many consoles my older boy has gone through. Today, he scoffs at consoles, "true gaming is done on PCs, Dad...." and both of them own a couple portable Gameboys.
I honestly don't know when and where to stop. I can say we spend upwards of $500 on each boy each Christmas. Most years, there's a new console, they can't possibly play on the same one, each has their own room and a corner set up for gaming. The older one has gotten into guns, we gave him a rifle last year, this year he has asked for a handgun. Of course, he will take a handgun course, and the minute either boy shows signs of becoming an idiot, I start taking things away.
If I haven't said it, they are both good boys and both do very well in school. The teachers always like them, my mom being a teacher and counselor, we instilled in them that those teachers are not there to babysit you, they are there to teach you something to make you useful in the future. Luckily (or because my sperm are that good :) ), discipline has never been a big issue.
My older sons biggest party night was when he got "drunk" on Redbulls, he said he drank like eight one night at a friend's party. He was sitting there by a campfire in the dark yelling at me to come carry him to the car. He was in 9th or 10th grade, surrounded by all these boys I had known since he was in Kinder. My initial reaction was anger, followed by laughing my ass off, after realizing alcohol was not involved. He was belligerent though, saying he needed to go to the emergency room and that we didn't love him, and that we needed to do something about it. I remember telling him to shut it and take a shower. We stayed with him, not letting him fall asleep until he was back to normal. We still make fun of him for this. When we've had parties at the house, he'll walk around with a thin layer of scotch in a glass, proclaiming himself a "scotch man", but if he drinks it, he is asleep an hour later, usually he just pours it into my glass, saying it went bad.
Can we reverse this pattern we have created? Would it work if I tried to say Santa brought you a $5 gift certificate to Starbucks? I think not, my palms got sweaty just thinking it. While I have the ability and this lifestyle, I will give them all I can. After all, they are begat of my loins, so essentially I am giving to myself and I do feel I should spoil me, because as people like to say on FB, "you deserve it."
No comments:
Post a Comment