Ashley Cawa

Brittany Johnson
Haley Hart
Josh Greene

Table of Contents

Parents role.....1
Personal Experience....4
Study.7
Results...9
Editorial Note.....11

Parents Role

More often than not, it seems that the way a child is raised
and treated by their parents will be a reflection of the
person they become in their future. It is important that
parents are aware that the values and responsibilities that
they teach their children, or don't teach their children, will
have an effect on the type of adults they will be.

Parents have all the influence when it

comes to the kind of adults their
children will grow up to be.
Nowadays, kids of all ages adorn
designer clothing and expensive shoes
given to them by their parents. In
reality, expensive clothes, especially
worn by children, have no purpose
other than an illusion of superiority,
driven by an irrational belief that
someone is better than someone else
based on what they own.

Parents need to take precaution

when raising their children to teach
them to avoid this pricey death trap.
Parents who advocate moderation
and patience, and teach their kids
purchasing the over priced amenities.

Personal Experience
An example of how a child
is raised and how it affects
their habits is explained in
the following chapter.

As I was growing up I never really got

everything I wanted. My parents wanted to
teach discipline and delayed gratification at an
early age so when I grew up, I knew that if I
waited for something, I would get something
even better; that I would feel better knowing I
waited for something instead of getting it in the
moment. I noticed, as I got older, that my
brother reacts differently than my sister and me
when he is told to wait for something he really
wants. There are different ways to raise and
discipline children which allow a child to delay
gratification.

Diana Baumrind, a developmental psychologist, claims

the most successful parenting style is an authoritative
parents who have a balance between setting their
childs limits but also being nurturing and responsive
to their needs (Hay, 2001, p. 712). Baumrind theorizes
that setting limits and emphasizing the importance of
discipline, which is carried out through authoritative
parenting is successful for a child to understand the
importance of delayed gratification. But it is important
to understand that parenting styles itself are not what
drive a person to understanding delayed gratification.
The social psychology of parenting styles carried out is
another factor which Baumrind theorizes drives
parenting styles, thus driving delayed gratification
(Hay, 2001, p. 712).

A Study
Many people in a survey stated that they were happy with
their purchases for a short amount of time. Are those nice
things really worth it?

a survey of 48 participants was conducted

and the results of the survey indicated just
how materialistic each person was based on
a scale they had developed beforehand. The
participants were placed into three groups
differentiated by their levels of materialistic
influence based on the results of their
survey. The participants were then asked to
identify recent purchases they had made
and how those purchases impacted their
happiness from time of purchase through
the weeks to follow.

The Results
The study showed also that for those
who repeatedly make purchases in
order to feel better about themselves,
actually feel happy for less time
compared to those with unmaterialistic values.

The researchers found that the most common

occurring item that brought happiness from all
participants was clothing, followed by automobiles.
The results also showed that the emotional reaction
difference between the groups of materialists in the
study was rather insignificant; understandable
considering the participants were asked to reflect on
purchases that made them happy. What researchers
did find that was quite interesting was how high
materialist participants reported stronger feelings of
anxiety, guilt, and other negative emotions the weeks
following the purchase, compared to the low
materialists who did not report as many negative
emotions (Richins, 2014).

From the Editors

Hello Parents, we hope that this

book helps you in raising your
child by showing/teaching them
that materialistic things are not all
that matters in life. We hope that
when your child grows up they
realize that there is more to the
world than the fancy and
expensive things that they can
buy. It is important that they
learn from you at a young age that
spending money the right way is
very important. Hopefully this
book will help in teaching you to
raise your child in a materialistic
world and teaching them to spend
their money wisely.