I still disagree with you. We werent ever dirt poor but there were times in my family and the family I raised when money was tight. The ony generation with money to burn is the one that MY kids and grandsons are in right now. My parents immigrated to the US when I was 4. Yes my father had a good job but we weren't rich. There were 4 of us kids. All of my siblings except for me have PhD's and very good jobs...all professionals...so all of us turned out ok...no druggies or alcoholics. I learned how to be a good mother from my mom, she was my role model. The key in our family was always education..that was number one. Good morals were also stressed and we were loved. I didn't go on a vacation until we went to Europe when I was 18. Vacations were visiting my grandparents in Chicago which to me was the best ever anyway.
Well, we know two married couples, one of them being my half brother, that definitely had money while raising their kids. The one husband spent his entire career as a Engineer with Ford Motor Company and my half brother retired from the state of PA Heavy Equipment Maintenance Manager. Both couples kids are University graduates and part of those years of education came from their dad's work earnings. Neither of these couples are rich, but are darn sure "well off", as are their kids. There can be a definite difference between parents who are "well off" and those that are poor. Poor folks are constantly thinking about money, while "well off" folks don't.
We will just have to agree to disagree. The subject is raising good kids not how life is better if you have money. Sure money is great but it takes something else to raise children and that's a strong commitment and love and good values. Look at all the rotten kids of stars.
There are plenty of rotten kids who's parents aren't stars. Yes, the subject is about raising kids, but if you was to ask some parents, they will darn sure tell you "if I didn't have to work so many hours, or two jobs, to have enough money to get by on, I could be a better parent and be with my kids more". Actually, my first wife divorced me, in part due to my salary and the other part due to my "farming" roots. She came from a pretty upper-class "city" family. I think she was more attracted to my EMS uniform than actually me. I also think she was raised to meet a high-paid man, like her dad was as a President of the company he worked for. Yes, a "uniform" can sometimes be relied on to get a woman. LOL Yes, "agree to disagree".
I think it depends on what we judge to have been a good life. I feel like I have led a good life. Like most people, there were things that I would change if I could, but I can't so there's no point dwelling on that. My dad owned a lot of land but a farmer needed a lot of land in order to barely eke out a living and, even then, he ended up having to take a job with a ship building company. I know he hated giving up full-time farming, but he still planted his land each spring; he just had to negotiate deals with other people to do some of the work, particularly during harvest time, which cut into the income he made from it, although all the risks remained his. He would come home from his day job and work well into the night around the farm. I can remember hearing his chainsaw after midnight some nights as he cut trees for sale, when poplar was selling at a good price. As for my own life, there were times when I wished that I could have a new bicycle or maybe some other toy, but there were only a couple of kids in town who had new bicycles so I didn't feel out of place. I can remember only one family vacation, and that wasn't very far away - Wisconsin Dells and the Cave of the Mounds. The cave was spectacular, and there was an amusement park in Wisconsin Dells. We went to most of the local stuff. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan held its own state fair. That was in Escanaba, and we always went there, and to any carnivals or circuses that were nearby. But we didn't go on cruises or vacation in the Bahamas. My dad was a Boy Scout leader, and he took his vacation each year at Boy Scout camp. I don't know what mom though about that, but he did. My dad had money put away for college, and I know he was able to help (although not completely pay for) my older brothers to go through college, and I started college after taking a year off, but my dad's house burned during my first semester there. I think the house was insured, but it wasn't insured for enough that he could simply rebuild. He didn't discuss such things but I believe he took out a mortgage or a loan in order to rebuild, and ended up having to sell the house and most of his land over the next few years. It didn't help that he was badly hurt during the fire and was unable to work. Anyhow, without anything having to be said, I knew that I couldn't; turn to him for help in financing my college tuition. That was something I would have to pay for myself, and we didn't have free community colleges or Pell Grants that would pay us to go to school, then. So yes, while I would have certainly changed a few things if I could, I feel like I have led a worthwhile life. I'm happy with it, and I certainly don't consider my parents to have been bad parents. Mom was home, up until the time when she died when I was thirteen. Dad spent very little time sitting around the house with us but he was available whenever he wasn't at work. We might have to walk out in the woods or the barn to find him, and then he'd put us to work, but he was there.
Both my children and their spouses work. They still find time to take them to all their sports activities and watch and encourage them also. They go the the school a lot and will take a few hrs off if its something during the school day. My son and DIL have gone in late to work ever since the first one started school. First day of school they go and have a breakfast out with the boys and take them to school themselves, get a photo also. It's a big day! Lots of examples that I could give but I have a drs appt soon.
Monies all aside. I remember that family I lived with when I was very young, about five. They had a daughter similar in age to me. Perhaps up to 3 years older or so. I don't remember. I do remember the car being loaded up and a short drive to the beach. Blankets, food, fun. They seemed to do things together. Fast forward to my mother who trapped us in the back yard not allowing us to go out. "next weekend" My mother yelling for days. I know my mother had mental health issues. Yet all three of us are working, law abiding citizens. Are we the happiest people? I don't think so. My one brother even did 20 years in the navy. I'm sorry @Cody Fousnaugh but I'm not seeing your argument. Kids need certain things. But I still remember that beach and that we never did anything fun later.
Well, most things that parents could get their kids involved in (in or outside of school) cost money. No matter how much love parents show their kids, kids are always going to want something material and fun places to go. My step-parents did show me love, but the word "fun" just wasn't in my life, until I spent weekends with the cousins.