My sons have a kid at their school whose parents both work full time.  Dad does something with the military, and mom works at a financial institution. 

Both parents have worked full time since this boy was a baby.  He's used to daycare and after-school programs.  He's also used to getting what he wants, when he wants.

And he's very vocal about it.  To this kid, your worth is NOT about who you are, it's about what you've got.  I know all kids go through phases like that, but with this kid....it's extreme.  If you're not wearing the right kind of shoes, he doesn't want you for a friend.  If you don't have a team jersey, you're not worth his time.  He's also rude and, to be frank, maliciously spiteful to other kids. 

My kids included.  Jake especially. 

Jake went to a pre-teen dance tonight.  He went on his own for the first time - his sister is now a teen and is too old to attend, and his brother is grounded for a stunt he pulled earlier in the week, so Jake got to go by himself.  He spent ages getting ready, matching his jeans to his shirt and carefully cleaning the toes of his Chucks off with Windex.  He even sprayed a little cologne on himself and put gel in his hair.  (I about cried when I let him off at the dance and watched him walk away all alone, but that's a different story).

When Dave and I went to collect him, we saw this kid hanging around in the foyer.  He was wearing shorts (despite it being -10 with the windchill), pristine Nike Jordan tennis shoes, a Nike Jacket with the swoosh emblazoned on the back, and he was talking on a cell phone.....dialing and redialing his mom, leaving voicemails for her telling her he was ready to get picked up.  I almost said something to him about how mean he's been to Jake, but I didn't....until Jake told me on the ride home how hateful this kid had been to him all evening, and then I wished I had.

What kind of message are the parents of this kid sending him?  That it's okay to be an ass to other people who don't have what you have?  (from what I've seen, the mom is that way inclined too.) That it's not the person who matters, it's what they have?  That you should judge a person by the coat they have, the car they drive, and the size of the TV they have in their home?

And what kind of a human being is this kid going to be as he gets older?  His situation isn't all that uncommon; I see lots of kids in the same situation as he - parents who work full time and who think that they can make up for time spent away by buying their child anything that they want - so what kind of human beings are these kids going to be when they get older?  Are we raising a whole generation of materialistic, snobby children who will turn up their noses at anyone who has less than they?  A generation of snotty kids who will grow up to be snooty adults, who will think that anyone making under $50k is a waste of space and should be made fun of and then ignored. 

I think that we already have.  Paris Hilton et al are a pefect example of the combination of materialism and poor parenting gone awry.  This kid tonight...is another example.  So are some of the parents who drop their kids off at the daycare across the street from me.  'Gotta have this year's model of vehicle, gotta have namebrand clothes for myself, and my kid MUST have eveything that it's little heart desires, or else I'll be a bad parent.  So, I'll work and work and work to give that little darling eveything it wants.  It's okay to spend time apart from them, to not see them from 6am to 6pm....that time apart is worth it because we all know what money equals....LOVE.  So, I'm going to LOVE that little baby for all I'm worth!!!'

That's the attitude I see.  I see it permeating neighborhoods all over the land.  I see more and more people buying into the 'bigger better faster more' culture that the media is peddling; I see them working more and more hours to maintain their subscription to said culture,  and I see them equating money with love when it comes to their children

I see it , and it scares the hell out of me.