UrbanBaby

07.15.08, 18:05 PM General Topics
11 replies

Anyone on who remembers feeling less well off than your friends growing up? Or at least felt ripped off in the clothes and material items department? Anything your parents did to make it worse? Better? I'm hoping dd's self esteem will be high enough that she won't be too caught up in this kind of stuff but she's only in 3rd grade and already noticing how much more those around her have than she does. [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:05 PM Flag

Dear UrbanBaby community,

Thank you so much for being a valued member of the UrbanBaby community. We wanted to inform you that we are shutting down the site on July 6th. We are grateful for your participation and support that has helped make UrbanBaby such an important resource to parents for many years.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can email us at urbanbaby-support@cbsinteractive.com.

Thanks so much,

UrbanBaby Support

Yeah that was me. It was toture for me and them as i was always asking for things and they were always having to say no. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:07 PM Flag

I was less well off. Looking back at it, I'm actually happy that I was, I learned way more about budgeting and saving than many of my pears (most of whom now have ridiculous credit card debt, b/c they grew up feeling entitled) [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:09 PM Flag

yes - it's the sense of entitlement i'm working on with her right now. but i'm also hoping to avoid making unnecessary things an issue. i remember my mom not allowing me to pick any clothes and forcing me to wear things i was embarrassed to wear. i'm trying to give my dd a choice - you can have the expensive sweater and nothing else or we can go to Target and buy four items for the same amt. of $. you know - kind of teach her that there are options to how money is spent and having a budget isn't a bad thing. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:12 PM Flag

my parents gave me a clothing budget starting in 4th grade and that worked really well. I became an excellent sale shopper. I did however also have lots of hand-me-downs from cousins. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:16 PM Flag

Me too - my mom coped by buying me one status-y thing a year but in retrospect I'm not sure that was the best thing to do. Ironically, my younger sister felt like she was the wealthiest among her friends and we went to the same schools (private then public magnet HS) [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:10 PM Flag

tell me why you don't think that was a bad thing to do. i kind of feel i'm doing that but like i said above, i always point out how much more she could be getting if she went with off brand stuff. but my mom tried to cover for us not having money by saying i wasn't ALLOWED designer clothes and it made me feel very awkward. ONE pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans would not have killed us. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:14 PM Flag

i was aware of it but it didn't bother me so much. my parents managed to instill in me a pretty healthy attitude about money and material possessions. that said, i think it's a lot tougher now. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:11 PM Flag

Me. For some reason it never really bothered me though. They were good friends and they never made it an issue so it wasn't one. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:12 PM Flag

It never bothered me to be poor. I certainly didn't feel "ripped off". What was taken from me? What was I entitled to but not getting? It may of helped that I went to a private school with uniforms. The uniforms were so hideous that no one looked fashionable. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:16 PM Flag

i felt totally ripped off but now realize that it's because they were saving so they could help me buy a house someday which they did! [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:35 PM Flag

junior high was the hardest. high school was only difficult because everyone else had a car. [ Reply | More

]
General Topics 07.15.08, 06:34 PM Flag