And this is why I hate MTV's Super Sweet Sixteen "......

[Luv'sTink]

That show is stupid! Their kids are growing up to be selfish. If someday they lose all their money, how will any of those kids survive? They wont.

Growing up we had one girl in school who's parents gave everything, new car at 16, a $5 thousand dollar wedding dress, HUGE wedding (this was in the early 80's) Well, they lost their money and became just like the normal person. She died in her late 30's from anorexia because she could never get over not being perfect. It was very hard on her, she left behind two children. It really was very sad.

 

[MUFFYCAT]

i watch the show and it's silly and unrealistic for majority of the country.

my dd are 12 & 15 and know that those girls are the extreme.
i've already told them what they can expect for the a 16th birthday.
and it's no near the girls on the show!

we live in a neighborhood of cops, fireman, etc. no one has that amount of money- or at least shows that they do!

 

[budbeerlady]

What is happening is this great new group of children who are now 18 - 21 and getting their first jobs dont have a clue about the real world. They got a new car at 16, life handed to them by their parents and now that they should be starting life on their own they are a mess. I have 2 working for me (and I know not all kids are like this but it seems to be getting worse) They dont seem to care about showing up, doing a good job and taking pride in what they do. And at 22 and 19 their parents are still paying for thier gas and clothes and everything. They are doing these children no favors!

I got a job at 14 riding my bike up the road to babysit everyday so when I turned 16 I could have a junker car. Then I worked for 4.25 an hour after school to put gas in my car, and to have a little spending money. We are cranking out a generation of kids who cannot be self sufficent! Dd wont get a car at 16 unless she has the money to buy one.

 

[Stepharoonie!]

I think the greediest kid I saw on that show was the girl who got TWO new cars for her birthday. One for school, one for fun. Someone should smack those parents.

If you can afford it, great. But don't spoil your kids so much that all of America wants to smack them.

Maddy is getting to be that way. For her 5th birthday (5TH!!), she opened the 5 or 6 things we got her, and proceded to have a fit because "that was all". I warned her the next time she acted like that, she's be lucky to get ONE thing!

 

[MorganLeFey]

I agree with everyone else here! You are not a crappy mom for getting your DD what you did. It sounds more than enough to me.

Unfortunately, sometimes I don't think it matters what you get them, they will always want something more. Try to not let it get you down.

I sometimes watch the Sweet 16 show but then was doing some research on it since it seemed so over the top, etc... Some of the stuff I read was that a lot of it was staged and not even real. For example, the kids don't get to keep the cars at the end. I don't know how much of that is true but it seems it's kind of weird how the superstars they want to perform even if it originally said they can't make it, magically appear, etc... I always thought that the performers actually did it for PR to be on TV, etc...

Luckily, my kids haven't seen the show (unfortunately, my DD has seen the WDW wedding one though now and says she is having her wedding at WDW! OUCH! I had best save my pennies! ).

She's only 12 though.

while I agree that some of it is staged...


my older dd is 15 1/2 and will be a junior in high school in september. a few months ago she was wathcing the show and sudedenly said "I know that girl! she goes to my school! she's a senior." and then pointed out at least a dozen guests who she knew from school.

you can well imaggi9ne what kind of expectations that sets up.


and the truth of the matter is, many people in this community have a lot of money and spend it freely on their kids. many have "over the top" parties and many get cars for their 16th or 18th birthdays.

 

[mommy*RN]

I hate that show too and yet I can't stop watching it. It absolutely amazes me what these parents do for kids with that kind of attitude. I don't think I have ever seen an episode that the girl wasn't a complete witch.

Don't feel like a crappy mom. I would love an ipod and a new outfit for my birthday. I'm sure your DD loves it too. She is just being 14 which by definition means she is a pain in the butt.

Amy

Oh thank goodness! I'm not the only one. I CAN'T STAND this show - yet when I see it's on I'm tuning in! Hopefully by the time DS and DD are in their "teens" I won't have to deal with it...though there is bound to be something else at that time...

My absolute "favorite" (as in I couldn't stand the girl at all) was a teenie bopper whose mom took her and a friend to PARIS FRANCE to buy a dress. I mean c'mon! The girl wasn't even that pretty and her whole life was to emmulate Paris Hilton...she even had her own phrase like Paris's "That's Hot"...her's was "That's Juicy". Ummmmmmmm - I think if my teenage daughter was going around saying things were "juicy" I'd have her commited for observation or something.

Alas, I do watch it...and I think it is CrAzY what these "brats" get. My DD's 16th b-day will also be her "Golden Birthday". I'm scared now!

"But Daddy - I want the Black BMW" AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

 

[Kteacher]

okay , just a quick update.... DD seemed to " get over " her gifts . We took her out to dinner, and then played mini golf . During dinner she looks at me and my DH and very innocently says, " So, what kind of car am I getting for my 16th birthday ? " I looked at her and told her that she'd be getting the kind of car she could afford to pay for

 

[Cindy B]

okay , just a quick update.... DD seemed to " get over " her gifts . We took her out to dinner, and then played mini golf . During dinner she looks at me and my DH and very innocently says, " So, what kind of car am I getting for my 16th birthday ? " I looked at her and told her that she'd be getting the kind of car she could afford to pay for

LOL! Coming from a family with a mechanic/truck driver and a secretary my parents were very realisitic with us regarding money.

However, since my dad was handy with cars, he bought with his own money an inexpensive car and fixed it up enough for us to drive. The catch was two things:

After we got the car in our posession (our title) there were two conditions:

1) We had to pay our own insurance/tags/renewal fees

2) If the car broke, there would be no more free car mechanic. We had to buy the parts and pay my dad for labor (at a discounted rate)

One year I figured it out that I spent more on labor/parts than what was the original cost of the car, so my dad got his "investment" back.

 

[Disney1fan2002]

What is happening is this great new group of children who are now 18 - 21 and getting their first jobs dont have a clue about the real world. They got a new car at 16, life handed to them by their parents and now that they should be starting life on their own they are a mess. I have 2 working for me (and I know not all kids are like this but it seems to be getting worse) They dont seem to care about showing up, doing a good job and taking pride in what they do. And at 22 and 19 their parents are still paying for thier gas and clothes and everything. They are doing these children no favors!

I got a job at 14 riding my bike up the road to babysit everyday so when I turned 16 I could have a junker car. Then I worked for 4.25 an hour after school to put gas in my car, and to have a little spending money. We are cranking out a generation of kids who cannot be self sufficent! Dd wont get a car at 16 unless she has the money to buy one.

Case in point: Tori Spelling. I read a headline: "Tori cut out of dad's will"

Cut out means she is getting $800,000.00. If $800,000.00 is considered cut out, I would hate to think of how she expects to live if the money was no longer there.