Scoops
06-09-2008, 05:24 AM
Critics Blast Latest Parenting Trend; Call Kids With Business Cards 'Preposterous'
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Touch base with Ethan Jones and he'll hand you his business card. He'd love to meet for lunch ... but will have to ask mom first.
The entrepreneurial two-year-old never leaves home without a supply of cards tucked in his bag.
In an extension of a phenomenon that has taken Australia by storm, growing numbers of parents are investing in business cards for their children.
Parenting experts have dubbed the notion "preposterous," believing it to be a classic example of obsessive parenting.
Ethan's mother Nicole hopes the cards will help her son build a strong friendship network.
The family moved to Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast four weeks ago and, thanks to Ethan and his cards, have already started to meet people.
"Ethan feels very important when he trots off to give someone his business card," Jones, 36, said.
Ethan's card features a colorful polka-dot design.
Alison Piro sells the kids' cards online — priced at $50 for 50 — and said parents across the country had been snapping them up.
Parenting expert Matt Sanders from the University of Queensland, said kids should be kids.
"Giving children business cards is totally unnecessary," he said. "There is nothing they could possibly gain. It's just a silly gimmick."
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Touch base with Ethan Jones and he'll hand you his business card. He'd love to meet for lunch ... but will have to ask mom first.
The entrepreneurial two-year-old never leaves home without a supply of cards tucked in his bag.
In an extension of a phenomenon that has taken Australia by storm, growing numbers of parents are investing in business cards for their children.
Parenting experts have dubbed the notion "preposterous," believing it to be a classic example of obsessive parenting.
Ethan's mother Nicole hopes the cards will help her son build a strong friendship network.
The family moved to Mermaid Beach on the Gold Coast four weeks ago and, thanks to Ethan and his cards, have already started to meet people.
"Ethan feels very important when he trots off to give someone his business card," Jones, 36, said.
Ethan's card features a colorful polka-dot design.
Alison Piro sells the kids' cards online — priced at $50 for 50 — and said parents across the country had been snapping them up.
Parenting expert Matt Sanders from the University of Queensland, said kids should be kids.
"Giving children business cards is totally unnecessary," he said. "There is nothing they could possibly gain. It's just a silly gimmick."