Lots of parents today have more disposable income than my parents had when I was growing up. Take my niece and her husband for instance both in very good jobs. They spend not only money on their kids but more importantly they spend the most precious commodity of all time with their children. Weekends are family time and the kids are taken ice sakting, swimmming, football and all the other things. My wife thinks they are spoiled but you have to remember that when we were growing up there were no such things as ipods of Nintendos. People did not earn as much in those days. Colour TVs cost the equvalent of maybe 6 months wages. Now you can by them for less than 50 quid. We live in a different era now.