NY Times: It’s No Longer Necessary to Spend a Grand to Wipe Tushes

by beth on July 15, 2009

I was doing some back read­ing of arti­cles I book­marked last week & in my cue was a New York Times arti­cle, For First­borns, Sec­ond­hand Fits the Bill. I had book­marked it to read because I am look­ing for arti­cles to give my stu­dents when school starts back up.  I’m try­ing to find some that deal with how changes in the econ­omy can cause other social changes.

In this arti­cle the focus is a sup­posed increase in fru­gal choices when shop­ping for kids.  I know the NY Times has a pretty skewed audi­ence, trend­ing toward a higher income & higher edu­ca­tional level.  I get there are dif­fer­ences in cul­tural under­stand­ings about money & neces­sity based on socio-economic class. But PULEEZE if this is what money & edu­ca­tion gets us then we are totally screwed on lessons of sen­si­ble eco­nom­ics. For exam­ple as the arti­cle points out that par­ents who have it “together” have real­ized this stun­ning fact:

No longer is it nec­es­sary to buy a thousand-dollar chang­ing table in order to prove your parental savvy and breadth of love; if any­thing, the oppo­site is true.

I’m not sure any­one in my classes will be able to relate, no mat­ter their age or if they have kids.  I know I can’t. Because really a grand?

Is this really a news­flash? I don’t know about any­one else, but I don’t think it was EVER nec­es­sary to buy a $1,000 chang­ing table.   Not unless your kid is going to cre­ate lit­eral dia­monds on it, which I’m pretty sure is impos­si­ble.  Rain­bows maybe, but dia­monds nope.  No dia­monds then no grand is going to be dropped so I can wipe a tush.

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{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Pam July 15, 2009 at 4:57 pm

I’ve always wondered who spent a grand on things like that.
I didn’t even have a changing table for my kids!

Visiting from sits.

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2 Alicia July 15, 2009 at 6:00 pm

a grand?!?! and i thought $150 was a lot!! that’s just irritating to me….how can people drop that much for a doo doo table?!

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3 Brooke July 16, 2009 at 11:47 am

a majority of Americans are totally screwed on lessons of sensible economics. I wonder why? whats the obsession with THINGS?! I was like that when I was younger and dumber…but I have seen the light! : )

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4 Theta Mom July 16, 2009 at 2:05 pm

“Parents who have it ‘together,’” HUH!! A grand, are you serious? We could all think of so many things that we NEED that would be money well spent.

Glad you got the google follower link up. I’m following. ;)

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5 KathyB! July 16, 2009 at 4:18 pm

Oh, for Pete’s sake. I don’t know ANYONE who bought a $1,000 changing table. That’s just ridiculous. Most people expecting kids get the fact that they’re about to get punched right where it hurts — in the wallet. They spend a little more wisely than that… At least I hope they do.

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6 The Redhead Riter July 16, 2009 at 11:25 pm

Stopping by from SITS to give a little blog ♥

That is ridiculous to spend so much money on such a thing!

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7 Julie July 17, 2009 at 10:36 am

Visiting from SITS – No we never, ever considered a grand for a changing table. That is one seriously screwed demographic.

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8 ck July 17, 2009 at 2:06 pm

This is probably one of the big reasons our country is in the kind of debt that we are…

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9 faemom July 19, 2009 at 1:10 am

Some people have TOO MUCH money. I think they should be required to give it to some of us before they buy a diaper genie for 500 bucks.

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