https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Mon, 12 Oct 2026 14:26:28 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1224612 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 15:13:19 +0000 mfa_lady 1224612@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DH definitely was not - I was, moreso than him, mostly in my early life because I'm the oldest grandchild on one side of the family and the only girl on another. I never wanted for anything, but didn't have an outrageous amount of "stuff" either. BUT, that said, I started working for all my spending money (gas, fun stuff, etc) when I was 16. I continued working all through college and was always taught the importance of work and earning a living. I don't think I'm explaining this very well, but I actually really appreciate the way my parents raised me like this. I hope I can show my future kids the same well-roundedness one day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223694 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 11:09:25 +0000 Kimberlybee 1223694@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@T-Mom: I agree exactly! I think they had good intentions in trying to teach me how to be thrifty and save but it back fired. I wore so many hand-me-downs from older cousins that it annoyed me. I always asked for new clothes for Christmas instead of toys. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223689 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 11:05:38 +0000 Kimberlybee 1223689@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So NOT spoiled, the extreme opposite of. I grew up in an extremely thrifty household. It was super annoying! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223656 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:52:08 +0000 T-Mom 1223656@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wasn't spoiled at all, and I think it kind of backfires in that I want to buy my kids all the nice things I never got to have (but within reason). My DH was extremely spoiled (grew up with a household of maids and nannies) and is now extremely frugal (but has a hard time doing chores, haha). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223653 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:51:14 +0000 Mrs. Pickle 1223653@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wasn't spoiled when I was younger. I was pretty spoiled when I was in high school. I did have to work for gas money though. My parents still spoil me now. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223642 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:47:15 +0000 littlek 1223642@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was spoiled in the sense that I am my parents world. I have one half brother who is 9 years older than me. My parents drop anything to help me. However, my parents both worked a LOT so I was a latch key kid. My DH's mom was a SAHM and she definitely catered to all his whims. Because of this, he has no idea how to pick up after himself. He thinks things *magically* get cleaned. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223634 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:43:43 +0000 Springtime 1223634@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, definitely not. I think my DH was a little spoiled. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223631 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:42:50 +0000 808love 1223631@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Not with stuff but I usually got my say and way. DH was not though. He is a bit of a favorite of his father, now that he is an adult. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223585 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:30:18 +0000 Alivoo01 1223585@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Me - kind of in that they let me participate in a wide range of activities, but were super duper strict on me in regards to academics.</p> <p>DH - omg, yes! And he still is! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223572 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:26:07 +0000 Andrea 1223572@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No we were not spoiled. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223568 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:25:46 +0000 ILoveLettie 1223568@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think in some ways I was spoiled--not neccessarily spoiled, but given a lot of opportunities and things other kids didn't get. This wasn't really with material things--my sister &amp; I had a strict allowance of $1 per chore and saw being able to just get .25 cent candy as a real treat, and only got new toys on our birthdays and Christmas and didn't get that many then (usually about $125). And all our clothes were used up until the time we were teenagers! They never bought us new books--we went to the library instead. But I think the ways we were spoiled were the fact that my parents went all out for our birthday parties--we would always have an elaborate theme, my mom would make an awesome cake, and a lot of times she would take us and all our friends swimming at an indoor pool somewhere. We went on a vacation every year and camping every summer. My parents always made sure we had awesome experiences, and I am still very grateful for them to this day. I also believe I was "spoiled" in the way that I never had to get a job until college--I was hugely into theatre and choir, and my parents allowed us to be super-involved in our hobbies without having to worry about getting a job which I am also very thankful for. My husband was definitely not spoiled--his parents provided for him and he had a good childhood, but money was tight and he had a single mother for much of his childhood so it definitely taught him the value of a dollar. He got his first job working in a greenhouse at 13. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223566 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:25:36 +0000 JerricaBenton 1223566@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I guess I was. I got just about everything I wanted and we went on lots of trips and outings. But our family was/is close and active in church and volunteering. I was always taught to be grateful and generous with others whenever I could be. My husband's childhood was mostly the same but probably a little less because he has more siblings and his parents were both busy with work outside the home. We plan to raise our children like I was raised. The only thing I'd do differently is to start household chores earlier than my parents did. My parents didn't have us do any chores and that made us a little bratty as teenagers when we were randomly asked to do something because it definitely wasn't part of our routine. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223538 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:16:11 +0000 BKCaribBaby 1223538@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No. As someone said, it's hard to get spoiled when there is no money to be spoiled with. I often felt like my mother's favorite word was no. :) As a teenager, I was the one who felt bad asking for money to do anything or for clothes, etc. I knew my mother worked so hard to raise me on her own, and I didn't want her to extend herself for me to get more stuff. Also my mother was very strict, so I definitely didn't get to do whatever I wanted. Sometimes it was hard, but I think I am better person for it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223537 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:15:57 +0000 mrs. bird 1223537@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>on special occasions- birthdays, holidays and the like. my parents were very generous with gifts for those. but i have worked consistently since i was 12 for spending money- i paid my own way to europe in high school, i bought my first car in cash, not everything was handed to me and i'm glad. we always had chores and were never paid to do them (you do chores because you live there, not as a favor that needs to be rewarded). my parents still like to spoil us on holidays and are vey generous, but we never have any expectation of them taking care of us.</p> <p>SO wasn't spoiled in anyway. his parents were pretty young and poor and were busy working and going to school. he was raised by television and a revolving door of relatives temporarily staying with his family. he worked in high school and college. i don't think he had set chores, but he was expected to do things around the house, but not cooking or much cleaning because those were his mother's tasks. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223536 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:15:57 +0000 Mae 1223536@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hm. I don't think I was spoiled with material things. Not by any grand plan so much as my parents didn't have a ton of money to spoil us (not that we didn't have plenty, because we did-- but it wasn't like we got a new toy every month or anything). I was maybe a LITTLE spoiled in terms of helping out. I did have chores and had to help around the house, but not as much as some of my friends did. And my mom never made us do hard jobs like cleaning the bathroom. I pretty much just had to dust, vacuum, keep my room clean, do dishes, and sometimes do laundry or yard work. </p> <p>I think my husband was super spoiled. His parents got divorced when he was 8 and there was a lot of drama about who he was going to live with. His dad basically bribed him to stay with him by buying him stuff all the time and not making him do anything around the house ever. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223531 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:14:21 +0000 Honeybee 1223531@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsKoala: Bwahaha, ditto. :) my husband is the youngest and the only boy in his family, so he was spoiled growing up. He still has a lot of drive and a great work ethic, though. I'm hoping that even though our kids will be comfortable physically, our commitment to service and giving will be enough to conteract any materialism. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223525 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:12:45 +0000 MamaMoose 1223525@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This is tough. I would say I never really wanted for much in the way of material things or attention. However, my parents raised me to be grateful. So I don't think it's fair to say I was spoiled. I knew not to take advantage of my parents and ask for/demand frivolous things. And if I did, they would say no anyway. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223523 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:11:04 +0000 nana87 1223523@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: yes, this too for me (dropping everything for me)! my dad has on multiple occasions answered his cell phone to take my calls while in the middle of work meetings, and once while he was teaching (he's a university prof)! to be fair, i was studying abroad at the time so i rarely called, but still! totally ridiculous. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223520 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:10:21 +0000 plantains 1223520@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wasn't spoiled, but I did get lots of material things, fancy vacations etc. I got my first job as soon as I graduated high school because I was on boarding school before that so it wasn't practical:) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223519 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:10:18 +0000 Rubies 1223519@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No way! And because I wasn't spoiled at all, I think I'm overcompensating by buying things for DDs. I need to change that! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223511 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:08:18 +0000 looch 1223511@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrs. wagon: I know, I am very lucky!</p> <p>They did tell me no quite regularly, I remember in high school I thought I should be entitled to a new sweater from The Gap every month. My mom put the kiabosh on that one. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223503 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:07:06 +0000 mrs. wagon 1223503@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: that's awesome :) better than material things!!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223501 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:06:41 +0000 nana87 1223501@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>it depends on what kind of spoiled! for material things, my parents didn't give in to a lot of our requests for stuff--they weren't into trends or fashions. for birthdays they'd get us things from our list, but there was a lot of stuff i know i asked for that i never got! dh's family was different--he had waaaay more material stuff</p> <p>but for some things, i think i was pretty spoiled--like, my dad was usually in charge of dinner since my mom would work late, and he basically always would let us choose whatever we wanted for dinner (as long as it was healthy/balanced). and my parents were very generous with a lot of our academic and extra curricular pursuits--like they'd buy us any and every book we wanted at the bookstore (I was a reading fiend!) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223498 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:06:17 +0000 mrs. wagon 1223498@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I think my parents didn't work that hard to not spoil us... I considered myself spoiled because whenever I asked for spending money, they never said no. I was the girl at the mall with the multiple bags while all my friends had one tiny bag from Claire's, if anything. But I do remember asking for certain items that my parents flat out said no to... usually because my mom didn't like it (she's very picky!) or they didn't want to spend extra $$ on something we could get cheaper without the name brand. I also drove a nice-ish car (I drove an old volvo but it kept breaking down, so my dad switched with me since he only needed to drive to the train station and back). But I always made money and had a job from 8th grade an on. They never pushed me to have a job but they never took it away either. When my grades slipped, they took away extracurriculars but never my job. They let me spend/save my money however I wanted, but they did have me give 10% to church. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223494 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:05:38 +0000 looch 1223494@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I wasn't spoiled with material things, but I was spoiled by parents that would drop everything to help. My father (to this day) will drop everything he is doing if I need to be picked up from the train station, hang blinds, etc. In fact, this morning, he is calling roofers to address my leaking kitchen situation. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223492 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:05:12 +0000 MrsKoala 1223492@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope. It's impossible to be spoiled when you have 3 siblings and no money. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223487 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:04:33 +0000 autumnlove 1223487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope and nope! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223486 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:04:13 +0000 pui 1223486@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I don't think so, but I had a lot of nice things growing up. I wouldn't say I was "spoiled" because I wasn't a brat, but I had lots of toys, video games, ect. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223484 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:04:08 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1223484@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was in the sense if I asked for it 9 out of 10 times I got it. But, my parents were not into material things so I wasn't a monster. I just didn't want for anything.</p> <p>My husband was not spoiled. He likes to say he read books as a kid. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/were-you-spoiled-growing-up#post-1223479 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 10:03:38 +0000 Smurfette 1223479@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Nope and nope!! We both worked. </p>