My first reaction, and that of most of the commenters, as I started to read it was that this was a series of kind gestures by generous people. And that's true. But after reading further on, I'm not sure they were good gestures.
The part that first gave me pause was when it said someone had paid off a certain woman's layaway account "which held nearly $200 in toys for her 4-year-old son." What hit me about this was that the woman was considered "impoverished," yet she had put $200 in toys on layaway, presumably because she couldn't afford to pay for them up front, and it was all for one child. I know that $200 isn't $2000, and it's so hard to resist when you're desire is to make your kids happy. But what are we really teaching them by giving them things we can't afford? Isn't that what got us into this problem in the first place?
This has been a tightening-of-the-belt-straps year for us with Todd finishing up his last of four years of full-time school and starting a new job. God has blessed us more than we deserve. Next year should be more comfortable than this year, due to that blessing and Todd's hard work, but we've experienced just a little bit of what so many Americans have since 2008. Because of all of this, we're scaling back this year. We've gotten four gifts for each child, and we've spent less than a $100 on each child. How? I've resisted the urge to buy many things I know the kids would love. We've made gifts by hand. We've bought teacher's gifts in bulk and divided them up. And one of Annie's sweet friends handed down an awesome almost-new toy for Hayes--and he'll never know we didn't pay the $60 it costs at retail.
Back to K-mart. Certainly, these anonymous shoppers were very generous to help others, some who couldn't afford to pay for their kids' toys and some who could. Many of those needy parents probably were trying to just get a few things that would make Christmas a special day, not anything extravagant. I especially love the story about the lady who had saved up the money to pay off her bill, and when her bill was paid, she decided to use that money to pay someone else's bill. Generosity is definitely great this time of year, but greediness and uber-consumerism isn't.
NOTE: My kids will be thoroughly spoiled by their grandparents this year, so we'll be cleaning out tons of old toys and clothes next week. If you want anything, just let us know! :)
ALSO NOTE: This picture is from an NPR website. It has nothing to do with the article other than showing people shopping. These ladies may could be buying for anyone--their kids, a preschool, charity, etc.
2 comments:
I had a whole big thing written about this a couple of days ago, but never mind. :) The main point was-- I agree with you that people should simply not spend beyond their means. But the culture of consumerism that exists in the U.S. doesn't just encourage people to spend money they don't have. It also encourages people to equate possession with success, and there is a definite social stigma attached to poverty. If you're poor, it's because you're lazy, or stupid, or a mooch, and couldn't be bothered to work hard enough to earn anything. If I were a poor parent, I can easily see how the temptation to avoid attaching that stigma to my child would be overwhelming.
And I bet that kid doesn't have grandparents who can afford to fill in the gaps.
Kate, great perspective. My kids are ecstatic that Santa brings TWO presents for them. :) Of course the grandparents also get them presents, so that is a blessing and we might buy them a few more if they didn't have grandparents. But I agree with you...they generally lose interest in the two after a few days or they have more fun playing with the box. :)
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