Over-the-top celebrations for sacraments
COMMUNION and Confirmation season is in full swing and many will be astounded to learn that the average amount of money received by a child making their First Communion is thought to be € 1,400.
That would appear to be a staggering amount for an eight year old child to receive, but such it the reality.
While everybody wants to treat their children, grandchildren, nieces or nephews on this special day, there is concern that receiving such a large amount of money if not supervised by parents could have a negative influence.
The thinking behind this, is that children, before these occasions, already have a wishlist in mind and their money spent.
There is a culture of gifting cash to kids on receipt of these sacraments which has unavoidably led to them counting their Euro and planning what they will purchase afterwards.
Many parents indicate that electronics such as tablets and smart phones are top of the list and often if a child buys them with ‘ their own money’ they believe they should be in sole charge of them.
This in turn can create problems for parents who will then have to monitor access and ensure their kids are not exposed to inappropriate content.
There is nothing wrong with children deciding to use their own gifted money to buy a much-wanted item and in many cases these gadgets can be used for educational purposes.
What is concerning, is that children are receiving enough money at a single occasion to be able to afford them.
Communions and Confirmations have gone completely over the top.
Some families treat then like mini-wed- dings with the full trappings that come with them - fake tan, hair and make up, marquees and large scale parties.
Each to their own of course, but is all this really necessary for a young child and does it give them false expectations?
Over the past few decades, the pomp and ceremony and often expense has grown and grown for such occasions and where will it all end?
Of course parents want to make these days special and memorable for their children it seems that in some cases, it is getting out of hand and needs to be completely scaled back.