Talkback: £17,000 spent on baby clothes

yes, if money was no object my children would have it all, its important to me they learn the value of money and arent spoilt, id never ever allow them to have something immeadiatly even if i could afford it, theyd have to behave well and chores homework well etc, we all have to work for things and i think it will benefit jack and lola to understand young, jack now gets choc buttons only when hes been really good done something nice or been helpful, treats arent for simply eating his dinner!

She is making life hard for herself and him though, i recently left a toddler group after overhearing mums calling me a snob/spoilt for the simple reason of the buggy i have and that the kids were in rocha and ted baker tops, stupid of me i only put them in them to make a good impression as i feel being young people expect my kids to be unkept etc! Next time i try somewhere new ill hope to make a different impression.

Atleast they didnt slate about the 3 buggys i have 3, ive had 4 though! i think most mums have atleast 2!

Overall id love to shop guiltlessly and give them it all, but first i want a bigger home!

Some very good points there Laura,yes if I were well off I'd like my kids to have everything,obviously,who wouldn't?

But I agree with you whole heartedly,children however young need to learn and appreciate the value of money,and just because they ask,doesn't mean they get!

Can't believe some mums slated you because your babies were dressed nice and you have a decent pushchair-what jealous cows!!!!!! You don't have to prove anything hun,you may be young,they're prob jealous of that too.

Time to find a new toddler group me thinks.

I had loads of probs settling in to the 2 we attend,because it was very strong squash and biscuits for break times and I'm not keen on biccys between meals so I took my own snacks,also mine are the only 2 without dummies so once again I was seen as a freak!!!!

However I stood my ground explained my choices to the snides who back-chatted bout me and now snack time has improved in both groups and I've actually made 3 very close mummy mates!!!!

They're just jealous,sound very clicky too. Don't be shy hun,I was when Tom first born and started to feel a little isolated,trouble was I lost a bit of confidence after stopping wrk,but happy to say back to my gobby usual self now!!!!!!!

My motto is if you don't ask,you don't get!!!!!!! Why not try it again,if they don't chat just play with the kids,try and make a bit of conversation,if they bitch-bitch back and never return!!!!!

I'm sure there are more in your area? I go to my 2 just cos they're walking distance!!! Too lazy to get in car!!!!!

I never did toddler groups.I found them very clicky.Harry hated them anyway cos of his ASD he can't tolerate loud noises.Arthur was too volatile as a toddler.He was a Jekyl and Hyde and I could never tell when he'd turn.Now I just don't have time to sit and drink tea and chat.A few minutes at the school gate is sociable enough for me.

Certainly wouldn't worry about what a few small minded folk think of your pushchair or your children's clothes.

If I had the money I'd probably buy my kids more,but I don't believe that just because you have it you should spend it.I don't buy designer,I look at how useful/practical/washable something is,and of course what it looks like.We mainly buy Next, which is more about quality than anything else,but if I'm in Debenhams and there's a sale,I have bought a couple of Rocha or Conran things.My Mum's guilty of that too.We had no money when Harry and Bridie were little so I had to trawl the charity shops,so now we have enough I like to make sure that their money (tax credits and child benefit are theirs after all)is spent on them

We do tend to spend lots at Christmas and birthdays,the kids get what they want then but within limits,and  I rarely buy toys in between

i never buy toys between birthday crimbo etc, maybe when theyre at the baby stage and they change and develop so quickly but not expensive stuff, only treats jacks gets is books, and i really need to join the library and save a few quid!!

I completely agree about next jo, nothing compares, i cant wait for the sale!

We used to go to storytime at our library.They had a really good story teller,wonder if he's still there.As well as reading them stories they did one story with actions the children all joined in.After the stories  they did a bit of art/craft to take home.All in 45 mins.I'm sure lots of libraries do the same.

didnt mean to post that yet,

i think thats why im so bad for debanhams next etc when jack was small we were skint and andrew had a job for 4mnths then 6mnths off 2mnth on etc it was tough and the cost of a baby and our first home shocked us, we were lucky in the fact that when jack was born he recieved ALOT of clothes i mean ridiculous amounts and the money he was given we used half to buy more bits and half in the bank so we got through, thank god for tesco and primark!! now andrews doing well were spoiling ourselves while we can, although i have waited for debanhams sale for nearly everything apart from a few junior j things as they werent to pricey! I LOVE the junior j stuff as most of the family call jack j! i know i need to calm down with the shopping so weve set a budget and im now getting bits for winter when undoubtably well be skint and andrew unemployed again, unless we can afford to buy a car when he passes.

At toddlers i really wanted to say id payed my buggy bit by bit and finally payed it off with a tax return, i did odd jobs aswell as i decided that was the best option for us, and im glad i did, we love it! Im very proud knowing we worked for it! Next for toddlers group jack has a thomas top he loves he can wear that and lola well in my opinion even cheap girls stuff is gorgeous and normally looks far nicer and more expensive than youd expect so she can wear a paper bag loL!!!

yep they do that here, starts at 10 though and my two dont wake up until 9-9.30 and by the time theyre dressed fed strapped in its too late!! Theyre changing times in the summer have to look into it!

Were starting gymnastics 1st week of summer hols, jack will love it hes like a monkey climbs everything!

We'e not well off at all,my lads are supermarket clothes walking adverts!!! Tesco,asda,sainsburys you name it!!! But I love being at home so they'll have to learn to like them!!!

Went to next sale half 3 last christmas-never again!!!!! The queue was sooo long at that hour it was mad,think I'll carry on trawling the supermarkets!!

Very lucky tho,have hand me downs from 4 friends who are all full time working mums so I do get some next and debenhams!!!! And my bro is minted,so if he buys the boys clothes it is always designer or high quality!!!!!

I love asda and tesco and tu, asdas fantastic for lola, and does lovely character tops for jack, 3 thomas tops for £6 and thats not on sale! tescos i havent been for aaaaaages but last time i did i got lola some beautiful jeans with a butterfly on and a top cost £4.50 for both! and tu was brilliant when jack was tiny, his whole wardrobe was from ther i think!
Oh and matalan, love there disney range!

First next sale i went to was a breeze, spent £40 on 2 pairs of jeans 3 hoodies two tshirts and socks for lola combats and a my little pony top for my sister dungarees and a top for my brother and two hoodies for jacks! Well worth pushing through the crowd, no q's though! But theres about 10 nexts in leicester! the next here only opened a few months so this sale will probably be crazy!

Funny enough I've recently started goin to Matalan-i love it! Got the lads some lovely shorts and vest tops 2 lots each under a tenner!

Also got myself a gorgeous red cardi with lil heart buttons,it's really sweet-hoping to wear that with vest top and my good old ripped jeans! Have to wear cardi cos of the bingo wings!!!!

when i went matalan they had shorts and tshirts sets 2 for £8, jack loves his monkey ones! other ones say something like little monnster i think and lola has fairy and flower ones theyre really nice and cool for them in that heat.

Matalan is best for socks!!!