GREENBELT, Md.
Jarratt Hughes and Marcia Harris splurged last year on a birthday party for one of their eight children. A show at Medieval Times dinner theater -- complete with a four-course meal, Hollywood special effects and a jousting tournament -- cost $500 for the whole family.
On Sunday, another daughter will turn 13, but the festivities will be more reminiscent of the 1930s than the 11th century.
"She won't get much," said Hughes, who lost his job as a courier for a doctor's office late last year. "We might just sing ‘Happy Birthday' and have cake and ice cream with just the family."
As the recession drags on, moms and dads are finding ways to dote on their kids without opening their wallets. Fancy birthday parties, music lessons, sports leagues and gifts are being scaled back or eliminated. Even the Tooth Fairy has been put on a budget.
The pain is not limited to the kids. Businesses are also feeling the pinch. And even parents with reliable incomes are saying "no" more often.
"Parents are cutting back across the board," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Gerrick Johnson.
Hughes said that the family began trimming costs after he lost his job. But the situation worsened after the recent death of a generous family member who had helped with mortgage payments. The couple decided that Harris that would support the family through her job as a maintenance worker for the federal government while Hughes stayed home with the kids, allowing them to avoid paying a heap of money for child care. "It's a big change," Hughes said at a Target store in Greenbelt as he calmly turned down his kids' pleas. Sons Jonathan and Joshua pointed to toys; daughter Ashley begged for a doll.
It's a change for corporate America, too.
In 2008, sales of toys fell 3 percent to $21.6 billion from the previous year. Children's clothing fell 2.2 percent to $36.8 billion, according to the research firm NPD Group.
At RockNfun Music in Falls Church, Va., the number of people, mostly children, taking guitar, piano and other lessons has fallen 5 percent to 10 percent in the past four months, co-owner Kevin Glass said.
Paul Feciura, the owner of Youth Sports, Virginia Training Center Inc. in Woodbridge, Va., said that business has dropped 15 percent to 20 percent since last summer -- even though the Beijing Olympics should have provided a boost.
For some families, the belt-tightening is about survival.
Heather Parrott, a stay-at-home mother of three sons in Portland, Ore., said that her family cut spending after her husband was laid off in January from a software company.
The Parrotts have yet to have a birthday party this year for son, Zachary, who turned 8 in February. The boys also are sitting out extracurricular sports because they cannot afford the fees.
For Suzanna Tegegne, the lowest point came last year when she and her husband could not buy Christmas gifts for their three children. The family has struggled since she left her job as a caretaker for mentally disabled people in 2007 so she could watch her daughter. She's working now as a house cleaner, but the bad economy means less business.
Ismael Sangare, 12, of Takoma Park, Md., said that his father's job as a mechanic has been unsteady. So Sangare no longer goes to the movies as much or gets the $200 sneakers he prefers.
And Denny Tra, 16, said that it's harder for his mom, who cuts hair, to make money. So he's paying for his tuxedo and flowers for this year's junior prom at Loch Raven High School in Baltimore.
As for the Tooth Fairy, the average pillow payout is now $1.88, down from $2.09 last year, according to a recent survey by DeCare Dental, a benefits management company based in Minnesota.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement