My Child's Big Fat Birthday Party
BBC1, Monday 19 July - 10:35pm - 11:25pm
Jodean has spent between 12,000 and 15,000 pounds on her son Anton's seventh birthday party because "I love him more than all the stars in all the skies. I can't do enough for him. He is absolutely precious and he is the reason I breathe." Jodean is just one of a handful of parents featured in this jaw-dropping litany of conspicuous consumption that shines a very strong light on Britain's obsession with its kids. Another family is hosting a "winter wonderland" themed party with real animals for their son (5) and daughter (9). One of their teachers shakes his head ruefully. When he was growing up, "If you had a birthday cake, you were posh." Suzanne has lavished thousands on son Kian's Wild West birthday party in a barn, which culminates in the delivery of the last in a series of gifts - a motorbike. But in a telling moment, she yells at Kian and his pals as they tear around outside: "I didn't pay all that money for you to be in the garden!"
Radiotimes
