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In reply to the discussion: Adults that spoil kids aggravate me [View all]tavalon
(27,985 posts)I have a severely autistic child so we need to sit out many gatherings because he has the athletic body of a 16 year old and the judgement and self control of a 4 year old. But this year, my husband's new girlfriend really wanted our whole family to come and meet her family for Christmas eve (if that last sentence didn't parse, it's because we're poly and everyone attending understood what that meant). Anyway, my husbands and I took shifts with our kiddo and actually he acted like a champ. When it was clear that he couldn't take the stimulation anymore, I took him home, and the others came home just a bit later. But everyone had really nice things to say about him and how we watched over him.One of them said something to me that I recently said to some friends of mine. They said it was obvious that he was loved and he knew it.
I have a couple of friends who are barely scraping by and they worry that their child will not have a good childhood because they struggle with money so much. But the thing is, they love this kid with all their hearts and this kid knows it. She isn't spoiled, she's loved. And she's happy, one of the happiest kids I've ever met.
I was raised by upper middle class parents who believed that children were a nuisance and clearly wished they had never had us. Sure, I had lots of things as a child, but no love.