This article from The Telegraph in the U.K. raises some good questions. Being U.S.-based, I love the “Mums” part. Anyhow, I digress. The article says, and I quote:

Competitive modern mothers are producing a generation of demanding, spoilt children, according to a report on parenting. “The Making of Modern Motherhood”, which studied changes over the generations, found today’s grandparents were deeply concerned about how their daughters were bringing up their children.

“Baby-boomer” grandmothers, who took a more relaxed attitude to raising offspring during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, said modern parents were under pressure to control every aspect of their children’s lives.

So the question is, what can we do to raise kids that aren’t spoiled? And it’s interesting how this article brings up the generation-to-generation dialogue that arises. Regardless of whether it’s grandparents or friends, it’s always easier to give parenting advice from the outside in. Clearly, when Moms are involved in the day-to-day struggles, it makes it harder to stay objective, read up on great strategies, and to parent perfectly. And, each generation seems to bring with it its own set of baggage (ours is technology and over-programming, I think).

I’m a big believer in reading books on child development – there are so many great tricks of the trade that are available on the parenting bookshelf. There’s a new book that just came out, “Parenting, Inc.,” that sounds great and right up this alley. Here’s a great excerpt including some thought provocative issues from Monsters & Critics:

A leading social critic goes inside the billion-dollar baby business to expose the marketing and the myths, helping parents determine what’s worth their money and what’s a waste.

Parenting coaches, ergonomic strollers, music classes, sleep consultants, luxury diaper creams, a never-ending rotation of DVDs that will make a baby smarter, socially adept, and bilingual before age three. Time-strapped, anxious parents hoping to provide the best for their baby are the perfect mark for the parenting industry.

In Parenting, Inc., Pamela Paul investigates the whirligig of marketing hype, peer pressure, and easy consumerism that spins parents into purchasing overpriced products and raising overprotected, overstimulated, and over-provided-for children. Paul shows how the parenting industry has persuaded parents that they cannot trust their children’s health, happiness, and success to themselves. She offers a behind-the-scenes look at the baby business so that any parent can decode the claims and discover shockingly unuseful products and surprisingly effective services. And she interviews educators, psychologists, and parents to reveal why the best thing for a baby is to break the cycle of self-recrimination and indulgence that feeds into overspending.

Editor’s Note: I’m sold! I think we’d all agree that spoiled children are a mess to deal with, but what are we doing at home to prevent/control the issue?