Parents, you're spending too much money on your kids.

Parents are spending too much on their children. 

I've been one of those parents. The parent who has participated in one too many overspending binges. The parent who has fallen victim to the countless emails, text messages and promotions from brands that aim to guilt and panic us to buy, buy and buy.

The desperate need to spend big creeps up on us all. For me, it was when I found I was pregnant with my firstborn. There was an overwhelming feeling to get it all, get it right away and get the best of the best. 

When my newborn arrived, there was a desperate, endless desire to give my baby the world. The cutest outfits. The most lovely nursery.

And if you're like me, you also want to save your sleep, and you’ll spend anything for that. 

Watch: 5 money lessons your parents told you, that you should probably forget. Post continues below.

You’re up late, feeding, scrolling and spending, waking to the invoices in your inbox that sometimes you only vaguely remember buying. The goods for your little ones arrive thick and fast in the post, and you suddenly blink and they have grown out of all of those "must have" investments that felt totally justified at the time.

I know I'm not alone. In fact, Australian shoppers spent a whopping $6 billion during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales — all within a week. That's up to 25 per cent more spending than last year. 

You hear that, and it's hard to believe we’re grappling with a cost of living crisis, really.

But there was a distinct moment where I, perhaps as so many parents do, decided something had to change. I lie awake at night, worried that if something doesn't change, then our nation's pockets will run dry and the world will literally drown in all the waste we created for ourselves. 

This worry is why I actually started my company Markot as a curated marketplace dedicated to making the baby product industry more sustainable. Secondhand baby goods can be refurbished and authenticated before being passed on to a new family to enjoy.  

Nicole with her growing family. Image: Supplied. 

Time is not your friend when you’re in the first few years of parenthood. 

Whilst so many of us want to sell, reuse and recycle our baby goods, wading through marketplace sites is totally overwhelming. Are you being scammed? Do you actually want a stranger turning up to your door? Will the quality of what you’re buying actually be guaranteed? 

It’s absolutely no wonder that only a quarter of us bought second-hand baby goods in the last year. 

As marketplaces have existed to date, it has been really hard for parents to get motivated to jump on the circular economy bandwagon.

But our children deserve to grow up in a world where options aren't limited, but considered. Having everything at the drop of a hat isn't normal. 

Markot’s latest Australian Parents and the Circular Economy Report confirmed that Australian parents are spending approximately $1.5 billion on baby goods per year. 

It was the big ticket items new parents invested in, like the beautiful cot, the feeding gadgets that save our lives, the Instagram-worthy accessories for the nursery, the latest pram, the most high-tech sleep support equipment.... The list goes on. 

It's a lot. 

As I write this, I want to make clear I have no judgment for the new parents who fall victim to overspend culture because that was me. 

I was you. I am you. 

The reality is though that we as parents are overspending. We're buying and buying and buying — things we don't need, gadgets that won't even be used, baby products that will have a short life cycle before they're carted off to the rubbish tip. 

We can do better and we must.

A few years on from the birth of my first child, research has shown us that Australian families are hoarding $349 million worth of baby goods in storage, and sending another $174 million to landfill. 

There is no doubt the parent economy is due for a shake-up — a shake-up that supports less spending, and a commitment to doing better for our environment. 

In 2024, I’m calling for parents to do better - better for themselves, and their children’s future. Commit to the circular economy in a meaningful way, I promise you it doesn’t have to be that hard. 

Nicole Deutsh is the founder of Markot, a curated marketplace for the most sought-after baby brands around the world. You can find her on Instagram here.

Feature Image: Supplied.

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