Are You Raising a Douchebag?

Alas, convenient as it might be, we can’t blame the children. “There’s no such thing as a spoiled gene,” says parenting expert Michele Borba, author of Don’t Give Me That Attitude! “The brat factor is all learned.” Which means that if you’re the dad pushing Junior around in a limited-edition Bugaboo stroller by Bas Kosters ($2,000), carrying a Louis Vuitton diaper bag ($1,380), and checking in at a members-only parenting club like Citi-babes in Manhattan (annual membership: $2,000), your offspring are probably developing some serious entitlement issues. Just read the news. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on the rise of sixth-grade “fashion bullies” who terrorize peers who don’t wear Junior Dolce & Gabbana. Then there was the New York Times article on youngsters—4-year-olds!—who fancy themselves collectors of highly coveted works of art.

Are You Raising a Douchebag? by David Hochman

(thank you Keren)

6 Comments leave a comment below

  1. So true! But on the serious, you *are* wearing Dolce & Gabbana today, right?

    There is a related article in today’s Times about teaching your kids manners –

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/health/13klas.html?em

    gretchen
    Jan 13th, 2009 / 1:36 pm

  2. oh my gosh although i don’t have kids yet, the fact that kids these days are being raised to be so spoiled and materialistic is a sad state of affairs. we need to curb the habit of putting value on commodities that actually aren’t worth the price you pay for them.

    swabreen
    Jan 13th, 2009 / 2:42 pm

  3. hilarious. and so important!

    joanna goddard
    Jan 13th, 2009 / 5:27 pm

  4. It’s true. But the parents don’t have to be rich to raise spoiled children. My parents weren’t rich and I never had name brands or designers, but I’m as spoiled rotten as they come. Therapy is helping. :)

    Amanda
    Jan 13th, 2009 / 5:30 pm

  5. I think that you can dress your kid is nice clothes and make sure they don’t become douchebags. A kid will become a douchebag no matter the prices of the things around him or her. It’s up the parents to teach them well.

    By the way, I just checked out Citibabies and for what hey offer, $2000 a year sounds like a steal. I wonder if the author of the article has any kids because that place sounds like heaven. I’m going to check it out.

    Antonio
    Jan 14th, 2009 / 1:19 am

  6. I think the point is less about price tags and more about treating children as trophies instead of human beings.

    Sarah
    Jan 15th, 2009 / 12:31 pm