If you have yet to notice, our children are spoiled. I should narrow this down a bit by specifying American children. I guess I can't really comment on kids from other countries. All I know is that in America, kids get most of what they want. I'm not saying it's a good thing either. In all honesty I believe it has created a problem. The problem is called SPOILED CHILDREN! I am just as guilty as the next parent. I look at my seven year old and all the toys she has. It's absurd if I compare it to the toys I had growing up. Basically they were few and far between. I recall my parents buying us new stuff on our birthdays and Christmas. That was pretty much it. We didn't complain either, because it's all we knew. When you never had it, you don't really miss it. Of course if you flip that statement, the opposite is true. I know how my child acts when she doesn't get something. And then there are outdoor playsets. Who can even afford these?
One summer day, my daughter was sprinting through the backyard. She was entertaining herself, as she does a lot of the time. Then she approached me with a query about outdoor playsets. She was apparently noticing how great the neighbor's was, and she wondered why we didn't buy one too. It must be a "Keeping up with the Jones" thing. Anyway, I wasn't totally opposed to the idea of outdoor playsets. I did like them and have always loved the fact that my daughter prefers to be active and play outdoors. This is when my wife any I began looking into things. After a bit of surfing on the web and flipping through the yellow pages, we had a place in mind that sells outdoor playsets. Unfortunately no prices are listed on the net or in the phone book. Well, we took our daughter with us and ventured out to speak with the company we'd found. The man showed us a few different models of fine wooden outdoor playsets and we actually liked them all. Any one of them would do. I inquired about the price of one and was dumbfounded when he told my 6500 dollars. YIKES! I like outdoor playsets, but not that much.
What are you willing to spend? This is clearly an issue at-hand when shopping around for outdoor playsets. I may have been willing to spend around 4 grand on one in the past, but my daughter is already seven. Maybe if you're going to invest in an outdoor play set, you should do so early on. This way it will get used to death.
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