If my parents could have helped me out financially, they would have. As it was, I knew we didn't have much so I never asked for anything. It wasn't bad or good that I paid my own way through school (with the help of scholarships, grants and loans), that's just the way it was. When my sister (who is 7 years younger than I am) got to college, my parents were able to help her out, and I don't begrudge her that at all.
I can see right now that, as far as my daughters are concerned, I can't always differentiate between what they need and what they want. Or what I want for them. My husband provides us with an incredibly comfortable lifestyle and sometimes I still feel like a kid in a candy store. "I can get this??? Really?? No Kidding???" So I can't really tell if I'm spoiling them or not. As I write this, I'm in Maine staying with friends while my girls are at a sleep-away tennis camp up here. The cost between the two of them is a good bit more than my first year's tuition at Pitt. So, I guess some folks would think that I'm spoiling them. Also, come high school, I don't want them to ever have to choose between being in the class play or keeping their job at Wendy's. Or sweating if the grant is going to come through before the next semester's tuition is due in college.
I do believe, however, that just because you want to make sure your children are well provided for, it doesn't necessarily make them spoiled. My girls are polite and have wonderful manners. They are also compassionate and kind. Much more so than I am, to tell you the truth!
The people who come on here and "admit" to being spoiled by their parents don't really have to explain themselves. Some parents are able to give more than others; that's just life. I've known plenty of good people who had the world handed to them on a silver platter and I've known shiftless bums who had to work their butts off for whatever little they had. It's definitely more about the attitude instilled by the parents than the thickness of their wallet.