Christmas spirit or children being selfish? (Week 3)

Santa Needs a Bailout, Too: Kids Sell Old Toys to Raise Cash for New Ones
December 12, 2008
Jennifer Saranow

This article describes the phenomenon of children offering to sell their old toys in order to have money for new toys. With the economy in its current state (tired of hearing that yet?), parents are being forced to say no to their children's many requests for new, expensive toys for Christmas.

The majority of these old toys are being sold online on Web sites such as craigslist.com and eBay.com. According to the article, the number of postings for "games/toys for sale" has more than doubled. In November of last year, there were 190,157 postings on craigslist in the "games/toys for sale" category. November of this year brought 396,197 postings in the same category.

According to the article, the parents of these entrepreneurial children said the primary motive behind selling old toys is to earn money for new toys . . . for themselves. And I use the term "earn" loosely. Sure, the idea of finding a different way to get what you want is great. Smart kids. But why do these parents seem so proud of this?

I get that they figured out a way to make some money. Great. But this money isn't for charity. Most of it isn't even to buy gifts for their siblings, friends, or parents. The entire purpose behind these children selling old toys is so they can get new, better toys. What has happened over the past 20 years or so that children, teens, and even people my age can't be satisfied? We've grown up with the mentality "Ask and you shall receive." As painful as it is to admit, parents should say no more often.

To the new wave of entrepreneurial children, take a break from "gimme, gimme, gimme." Relieve the monetary pressure on your parents. Sure, keep selling your old junk online but reevaluate what you do with the money. Replacing your one-year-old iPod with the latest and greatest won't help you much in the future . . . but college certainly isn't getting any cheaper.

A final note about gift-giving during Christmas . . . what happened to giving something with meaning or love or thought? If the shortage of money should teach us anything, it should be that gifts don't have to be expensive or top-of-the-line. Gifts should come from the heart, not the wallet (cheesy but true). Doesn't anyone remember the Cratchit family?