Reply to do you motivate your children by telling them how much you sacrificed for them?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Wow I just did it an hour ago.  My daughter was asking why did we not have a nicer house like the one we had just visited and wouldn't be nice we lived in a more upscale neighborhood.  I just let loose about how hard I had to work to just keep us where we were let alone move up and that she should learn to appreciate what she had because it be a whole lot worse.  We moved to an much more upscale out of boundary school in DC this year and I have struggled, as have my kids at how wide the gap can be, but I also think kids need to understand that they should appreciate what their parents, teachers, adult mentors do give to them. 
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Look at it from her perspective:  she asks a legitimate question, and you "let loose" on her.  How is she supposed to know unless she asks?  Now if she had asked this repeatedly, I could understand it.  But I think your reaction was likely because due to your insecurities about your socioeconomic position relative to some of your neighbors.  You could also just have said "because we make less money".  Asked and answered. It will always come up....

We live in an "upscale" neighbhorhood--in a roughly $1.75m house.  DS 2 friends lives several streets away in a roughly $2m and $4m houses (yeah...wow, they're NICE houses).  He asked me the same thing.  I told him the same thing I mentioned above:  the Jones/Smiths make more money, most likely.  Next question.

Doesn't mean they don't appreciate what they have.  But don't most of us, kids included, want nicer things?  Wouldn't you like the nicer house?  Whether that's an upgrade from $100k to $200k, or from $3m to $6m, that's kind of human nature--it doesn't necessarily preclude one from being happy where you are, either. [/quote]

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