As a mom of two girls, I have to agree. And parents have good reason to be more concerned than ever. Toy sales alone amounted to more than $20 billion last year, according to the Toy Industry Association, and even kids now view themselves as consumers: Children ages 4 to 12 spend billions on things like junk food, clothing and toys.

Marketers are bypassing parents to target kids directly in increasingly sophisticated ways. For instance, Lisa Schifman of Leawood , Kansas , took her grade-schooler to a winter soccer clinic, only to discover that the walls of the gym were covered with advertisements. "Why do I have to get nagged at a soccer practice?" she asks, reflecting the exasperation parents now feel.

I don't have to tell you that this emphasis on stuff to buy isn't good for children; I haven't spoken to a single parent who isn't worried that her kids will come out with a skewed sense of what money can – and can't – do for them. The question now is what to do about it. How do you control the factors that are making your kids want more and more things? How do you say no fairly and consistently, even when you're tired of fighting? How do you teach them to delay their purchases and really value them?

We talked to moms and financial experts for reality-tested answers to parents' top concerns.