Comments on: Discuss: Are your kids recession-resistant?

By: Hope

Hope — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:14:57 +0000

We have been very lucky with our two kids, now 14 and 26 months. We have had to buy next to nothing for them. Our clothes are supplied by friends with older kids, and everything else was bought by friends and family. That being said, we are hiding our money under the mattress because of the recession. Nothing but necessities are being bought.
As for the holidays, as an extended family we have decided that we wont be buying any gifts this Christmas. Instead we are going to a dinner theatre as a family.

By: Jen

Jen — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:24:16 +0000

Recession proof? HA! I think most of these readers are just far more practical than the average bunch of American parents. Sure, I buy things for my kids... but I buy them second hand more often than not. And if I buy something brand new? It's often sometimes we've discussed and debated for well over a few months to see if it'd be worth it.

As for clothes, we have far too many as a result of yard sales, hand me downs, and doting grandparents. They'll keep well to pass on to someone else.

We don't necessarily spend more on our kids than ourselves, but then again, we just don't spend a lot of money that we don't view as necessary... (for instance, good, fresh, healthy food is a necessity for us... getting a new toy or book or piece of furniture is not).

By: Magda

Magda — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 01:51:02 +0000

We have a month-old baby and have received much more baby stuff than we could have expected. We've bought a few things (like a nursing pillow, and the fabulous Milk-Saver (new product, from mymilkies.com), and a couple of pacifiers ... but people seem to keep giving us things, especially my sister who is thrilled to get baby things out of her house.

Of course, my husband and I are of the opinion that *we* are the best toys for our son, and there are other fascinating things like, say, his own hands, which he should feel free to explore before being completely surrounded in plastic hand-me-downs. I remember the best toys from childhood being things like giant boxes. I come from a family which doesn't throw things away, so I may be able to get my Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs (which my father bought at garage sales) from my parents' attic (my Legos are already at our house, but I don't have to share them for a few years yet).

By: AJ

AJ — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 23:52:55 +0000

Two comments? Faux pas? Are most US-based Thinga-readers affluent and safely shielded from the recession?

By: Sara

Sara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 19:50:51 +0000

My son is only 3 months old, but so far, we are going to consignment stores, thrift stores, craigsliset, etc. first when looking for baby stuff. We have been fortunate to get lots of hand-me-downs, and I LOVE the little consignment store near our house for toys. We are hoping to raise our son to understand that life is not about getting what you want, but wanting what you’ve got.

By: Sara

Sara — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:44:52 +0000

I think for some kids, it gets ingrained early that new is the only good thing, but I think that’s very much a factor of how the family is. I was talking about a movie with my then 4 yo niece, and said how nice it would be to watch it with her. First response was, “Maybe you could buy it for me!” I said that maybe we would rent it some day when she visited, only to get rebuffed that buying it would be better.