IS IT A NEED OR A WANT?

When my children were growing up I frequently heard my mother ask them is something was a need or a want. I did not take on this question because my belief is it is alright to want something. I have always told people that you can want anything but you just can't have everything you want. For example I used to say I wanted a Leer Jet and a Chinchilla lined bath robe. (I really don't want those things today.) In this generation of teenagers that have gotten a lot of the things they want we may need to decide which philosophy we embrace. Either one will help kids determine how to prioritize what they want. I remember a few years ago a teenager in my office, upset with her parents because they were not going to get her a new BMW when she turned 16. When these same teenagers graduate college or especially high school today they are often not able to full that want list in the way they feel it has been filled in the past. It is making independence transition more difficult. So as parents help them with this distinction. Sherri