A couple of years ago, I posted about the process my daughter went through to save for an American Girl doll. Despite my misgivings with her spending over $100 for a doll that was almost certainly overpriced due to demand, I wanted to remain true to my mantra that her allowance was hers to learn about money responsibility. She saved for and purchased the doll.
Just recently, almost two years - and numerous conversations - later, she came in to my office and wondered why she had even bought the doll in the first place. It wasn't any better quality than similar dolls at Target (which were one third the price) and she was bored of the doll. We had already discussed that the marketing behind the dolls drove up the demand and thus the price, that collecting items like these were driven by our consumer culture and that she wasn't paying for additional quality, but rather for a brand.
I just replied, "Well, you learned something, didn't you."
I think shed did.
