Why love for children began to be calculated in money, reflects our columnist and young mother Alena Bezmenova.
Marusya Andreevna – the girl is almost an adult, the other day our pediatrician has allowed to start feeding. I must admit that I didn’t know about complementary foods, I bought a bunch of jars of mono pies for joy, I looked at the age, I didn’t skimp on the producers. A cute silver spoon, a gift from my godmother, was taken from the storerooms of my childhood. 35 years old, but as good as new. I am a neophyte mother, so I decided to read the instructions on the jar on how to feed-stir-warm-store. And … I learned that it is forbidden to climb into the jar with a metal spoon, even if it is made of gold. Only plastic!
Only disposable plastic spoons were found in the house; However, the edges of these spoons are not at all suitable for a child’s mouth, and they will cut it.
“Maroussia, today we’ll eat a metal one and won’t tell anyone, and tomorrow I’ll buy you the right spoon,” I entered into a secret conspiracy with my daughter. She just winked conspiratorially, saying that I will keep this secret forever.
The next day in the children’s goods store, I was already meticulously examining different types of spoons. At first I decided to buy five for two hundred. Quite nice, the price is reasonable.
– Girl, do not take them, – someone’s young dad stopped me from buying. – Take silicone if you love your child.
Of course I love what a question! Five for two hundred, I immediately returned it to the shelf and went to look for silicone ones. The man even recommended a brand that he is pleased with. The sought-after spoon was not hiding, it sparkled invitingly with the packaging. I didn’t find the price tag for it, but it’s important, it’s not worth a million. At the checkout, it turned out that a piece of silicone of a simple design would cost the parental budget five hundred rubles. For a moment, this is under a thousand plastic disposable cousins for adults. These are twelve failing merchants who once did not like one particular someone’s dad. But there was nowhere to retreat, the cashier looked at me as if I were now trying to save money on the life of my own child.
But the cashier was not the only one who despised me for being frugal. On the weekend, our dad stayed at home with Marusya, and I went shopping. At the same time I bought a highchair for my daughter trying to sit down.
– Why didn’t you consult with me? – her husband’s dissatisfaction knew no bounds. – Why did you buy this cheap chair, isn’t your child worthy of a normal chair?
It seemed that now Andrei would still remember my handbag, which I bought the other day for an obscenely high amount. Like, you don’t save on yourself, but you are going to put the baby in all sorts of rubbish. By the way, and not rubbish at all. Firstly, such chairs are bought for themselves by restaurants. If their sloppy visitors did not bother them, then they are definitely eternal for the house. Secondly, well, I myself would not have sat in a plastic-foam monster for ten thousand rubles. He looks as if now with his cheerful mattress he will squeeze the baby, as if with tentacles. And for dad, this chair is a litmus test of love, is it?
We have the same story with diapers. For the priests of his beloved daughter, daddy demands to buy only a certain brand. My attempt to buy diapers a little cheaper, very high quality and also Japanese, ended in a family showdown.
“How is Marusya? Are the teeth being cut? We now have a paste specially for children’s teeth, I think it is the only one that can be used to brush children’s teeth, ”my dentist cooed. A tube of miracle paste costs 1200 rubles. Few agreed to buy, which made the dentist indignant: what kind of mother is she who does not want the best for the child?
And what about children’s things? Have you seen how much baby clothes cost? Maroussia grew out of at least five sets, about one and a half thousand for each, without ever putting them on. I just didn’t have time. And a dress for one and a half adults can wear several seasons! But when I confidentially told the seller in the store that the price for children’s clothes was too high, the lady rewarded me with such a look as if, with my worldview, it was not worth giving birth at all.
“You really need an ergonomic backpack”, “without this toy your baby won’t speak for a thousand years”, “shoes of our company have been sales leaders for seventy years” – the children’s goods market has become a measure of your love for your child. Not ready to die at work to buy this super gadget? Why then gave birth! As if a child cannot be happy in pants for 49.90 from a network hypermarket.
– Unfortunately, modern parents do not know how to love. At one time they did not receive this very love. Parents in the 80s and 90s worked hard to somehow provide for the family. Children were left on their own or in the care of grandmothers, who also emphasized that mothers and fathers have no time, as they work. As a result, the opinion was formed that love is buying something expensive, unique for your child. And many children, in fact, do not choose expensive toys, but enjoy pots and plates. Another problem is when the kid in the store asks for a simple toy, and mom or dad buys another, more expensive one. It seems that adults want the best, but in this way the parents suppress the desired emotion, as a result, when the child grows up, he will not know what exactly he wants, not only in the store, but also in life.