As my saving-up-for-America type job, I work as a till monkey at Woolworths, a general retailer. In the past week, I've been covering the toy area and my god, children (at least children who come to my shop) are spoilt.
I had one kid asking his mum if he already had a £20 batman toy. When she said no, he asked if he could have it and she bought it for him. If the kid can't even remember whether he already owns the thing, why are you buying it for him?!?
And another little girl threw a tantrum because her dad had been putting sweets he liked into her pick and mix bag (which is done by weight not volume) yet he still bought her an ideologically unsound Bratz doll. Throws tanrum ---> gets toy? You're setting up some poor bloke for a wonderful wife 15 years down the line....
Gaaa! Maybe it's just me - my mum would've smacked me if I threw a tantrum in a shop - but I get so mad. There are kids here in the UK whose parents can barely afford to buy them nutritious meals and better off families think nothing to buying needlessly expensive toys for no apparent occasion.
Or perhaps the whining and tantrums just sound more severe in an East Scots accent....
