Like water dripping from a leaky faucet, a kid's constant nagging can be annoying and almost impossible to ignore, but giving in can have real financial consequences.

If by age 9, my daughter already has a Kindle Fire, access to an iPad and has been to New York City twice and on and on, what is left for her to experience when she is older? Am I somehow setting her up for crushing disappointment?

The danger, the real danger, was never in food or movies or video games, and it was not in the people they would meet online.

Your parents are not trying to undermine your goals. Just like you do, your in-laws want your children to become appreciative, and have "the right" values. But their desire to be adored, even favored, can trump their common sense and your goals.