On charity shops

The other night I was having a conversation with a young professor who is also the father of two boys. I was worried that kids would tend to be quite conformist and unsure what to do when, inevitably, they'll start wanting the same toys and branded toys as their friends do. He replied that he did not get that much stuff, got most things second hand anyway, and that kids do indeed end up picking up your values, so there was nothing to worry about.

Then I thought about charity shops. One of my closest friends and I cruise them from time to time hunting for stylish vintage items (he's an art history major so he's got one hell of an eye). But my professor friend getting kids' stuff from them, somehow that felt wrong. Hang on a minute -I thought- You're on more than 50k (in pounds!) and you get stuff from charity shops? Why don't you stay the hell out of them! How are the single mothers going to cope if you grab the best stuff?

And the sad thing is, the items were probably bought new by struggling parents who get into intractable debt because they want to give the best to their kids. I love capitalism.