To Be Announced...

My daughter is having a birthday soon. I don't feel any pressure from anyone to go this far. Well maybe my wife wants to go pretty far, but I'll do my best to steer her away from this kind of stuff. I have scanned past MTV to find the show "My Super Sweet 16" and caught myself watching the most disgusting behavior I've ever seen.

Parents Protest as Kids' Lavish Parties Get Out of Control

NEW YORK — Heard the one about a group of seven-year-olds picked up in stretch limousines to transport them to a friend's birthday party?

Or New York's designer candy store, Dylan's Candy Bar, that charges $1,200 for a 90-minute party for 20 preschoolers?

Or the sleepover party at New York's upmarket FAO Schwarz toy store on ritzy Fifth Avenue where a store spokeswoman said prices start from $25,000?

The cost and range of children's birthday parties has spiraled out of control, according to one group of U.S. parents and educators who have joined forces to collectively stamp their feet and say "enough is enough."

I'm sure that's a play on words on purpose. Fortunately, my daughter will only be 4 and is only mildly interested in things like princesses and The Little Einsteins, so we can just decorate a cake for her and she'll be happy.

"It's time to take a deep breath and ask ourselves how to parent wisely nowadays, beginning with small things like birthday parties."

Doherty is among a group of educators and parents from St. Paul, Minnesota, who on Tuesday were launching a campaign called "Birthdays Without Pressure" in a bid to put the brakes on birthday parties running out of control.

Organizers are hoping it will start a national debate about a parenting culture in which they say birthday parties have gone over the top and created peer pressure to keep up.

The campaigners cite the example of a party for a one-year-old attended by 60 people — while the youngster slept through the event and the gift opening.

That happens at EVERY 1 year old party - believe me. But the 1-year old party is where the trend is set. We didn't do much if I remember...so the bar is set pretty low to begin with. I couldn't understand the concept of a party for a child who sleeps 80-percent of the day.

Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, who last year wrote a report The Importance of Play for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said children did not need lavish birthday parties.

"Children don't need toys that do everything for them and it is much better to get back to the basics and to have parents engaged with their children," he said.

It would be nice to be able to do that...but have you been in the child toy area lately? Nothing for sale without lights, batteries, talking, lack of imagination stuff.

Labels: birthday