My kiddos wanna raise in their allowance.
"You see, Dad," I'm being told, "toys just aren't as cheap as way-back when you were a kid."
Way-back? They're not trying to appeal by flattery, are they. But I do hear their point. An average action figure runs $10. And playsets smaller than my Omega-3 caps, range all the way up to a $20!
They already feel the pinch ravaging through a box of vanilla wafers. You see, they've cut the quantity and thickness down over the last few years. The once 20 oz box's been cut to 15 and then 12 before dwindling down to the current 10.78...
Modern economics is a tough lesson for us grown-ups, too. So I'm trying to be sensitive to the kids' request. One of the biggest obstacles I notice is overcoming this mentality, even for adults. When life was sweet in the pocket, we spent a ton on whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted it. That's a hard habit to break, let alone not pass down. But like my wife and I learning the way to do more with less, we approach Bear and Jay's problem creatively.
We have shelves and buckets of rather forgotten and somewhat forlorn toys. "To think outside the toybox, how can use what we have in a fresh and fun kinda way?" I pose...
"Is this another recycling lesson, Dad?"
"Dudes... we can just give it all away to someone who WILL choose to have fun--"
"No no no, that's okay! We get your point!" they chime in, grabbing Barbie and superhero clothes. Next I see them walk over to the vat of stuffed animals... "Dad look! My bear with the stretchy arms looks good in plaid!"
And they're missing in playland a full work day. One can learn a lot from a Webkinz in a princess gown...
7 comments:
Very true. Ah, to teach economics :)
My children wanted some Webkinz accessories today. My son decided to buy a tiny little sweater. It was $13! That's as much as a whole new Webkinz. Needless to say, my boy passed, but not without complaining about how expensive the sweater was. :)
It sucks to be a kid, doesn't it? Stuff for kids is so expensive. And for them it's so much harder to pass on something they really want.
I think this is also a great lesson that you can't always have instant gratification. My daughter wants a Kitt Kittredge doll. These babies go for a whopping $100! She is working hard to save her allowance and isn't buying any pieces of crap (what I call landfill). She's up to $26 so far.
I nominated you for an award. Please come and collect it at my blog! http://sgaissert.wordpress.com/2009/03/16/my-first-blog-award/
That's so cute! We're big on talking about finances around here and my kids are pretty understanding about the budget. When we go back to school next week, I intend to do a little role playing with them to demonstrate how our banking system got into its current situation.
I loved this post. My husband is an economics teacher and he is always trying to find a way to teach our kids about money. It's a hard lesson, but we make them save up for the things they want. They have learned patience, which is amazing to me! They also make comments about neighborhood children who are "spoiled and handed everything thing they want". (Those are my sons words)
I know what you mean! The current action-figure craze here is Bakugan, and the only really good thing about them is that they're easily traded. My 8-year-old has 5 or 6, and each week at Park Day he trades with his buddies and comes home with 5 or 6 new ones. Works for me...
Karen
PS Thanks very much for putting me in your blogroll:-)
Post a Comment