First of all thanks for everyones comments on this topic. As suspected, most people that utilize this forum do a bang up job with their hard earned money and make good decisions when it comes to buying stuff for their children. I’m not saying that you can not have different priorities as to what you feel is important to splurge on, but that I think that a lot of parents in this city and many others do not think like most of you. I think there is sometimes an unrealistic standard that a lot of parents feel they need to live by when raising their chidren. My wife and I have many friends from many different financial situations. It’s very apparent that there is some competition amongst many of them when it comes to selecting items and activities that they deem important. As far as sports and other activities, I also believe in letting my children try things out. Some parents do not know when to remove their uniterested child from these activities. I would not let my child sit at home on the couch and do nothing all day either. After two years of little league, it was apparent that my son was just going through the motions. He did not play the next year where many of the other uninterested children were forced to by their parents.