I feel a need to talk about what I think is becoming an epidemic of parenting through indulgence and a need to be your child's best friend and gain their everlasting approval. The lack of fore thought that appears to be going into how people are raising their children terrifies me. It seems to be the ultimate in "the tail wagging the dog" syndrome. Everyday I see children 11 and 12 years old wearing "juicy" or "true religion" clothes that costs $200-$300 per item and talking/texting on their $300-$500 touch screen phones... not to mention the newly licensed driving brand new fully equipped BMW or F-350 trucks with 6"+ lift kits. What message are we sending to our children? How many children in today's world have any idea of "self" (IE: if you stripped away all of these materialistic and external things that they have defined and valued themselves by do they still know who they are or what they stand for???)? How many children think that without all of this stuff they are valueless... how many parents have stopped to think about this never ending need for the newest, latest, and greatest that they are continually feeding in their children and how it will effect them when they have do to go without? And how many parents have considered the fact that they are robbing their children of the fulfillment and achievement they so desperately need to build their self esteem and ready them to survive as self sufficient adults in the real world through earning some of these luxuries themselves. What sense of value do these children have? When they move out and are paying their own way they will not be able to buy these sorts of luxuries for themselves. Are these parents going to still foot the bill into adulthood until they are able to secure jobs that will provide for this lifestyle or are these children going to start providing this lifestyle for themselves by burying themselves in debt that they will not be able to get out from under until well into their adulthood? What a disservice we are doing are children...raising them to be empty, devalued, entitled, and most likely depressed adults. Will anything ever be good enough as an adult with this type of a childhood??