STOP KIDS BECOMING TOO MATERIALISTIC

Research has linked materialism to a variety of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression. Emma advises

y first bike was a M second-hand one advertised in the local post office and I can still remember the awe I felt at receiving it. My parents didn’t spend a fortune on presents, but I relished every gift. Christmas for the modern parent has become loaded with stress. Children no longer just compare themselves with their there are simple ways to combat that. A study of 900 adolescents aged 11 to 17 found a link between fostering gratitude and reducing materialism, which means that feeling grateful and expressing that gratitude may lower materialism and increase generosity among youngsters. The researchers recommend regularly eating meals together so you can practise gratitude as a family, and making a gratitude jar, where you write daily statements about things you are grateful for – then, when it’s full, read them back. You can also ask your kids each night, as you tuck them in, what three positive things happened that day, or make a gratitude collage, full of images that represent things that make them happy, then discuss them together. Teach your children to recognise that they’re lucky, and everyone benefits; society, your bank balance and their lifelong happiness. classmates, but the rich kids of Instagram. That iphone you saved up for is somehow now disappointing, compared to the five grand watch a Youtuber is posting about. This worshipping of materialism is making kids more depressed and anxious than ever before. Fortunately,