But I Waaaaant That!!

Last week we were in Cancun, Mexico. Yes, thank you, it was a good time. But you know, when you go on vacation with the kids, it usually ends up more of a family trip than a vacation. There’s always that whining about all the things they want. The constant “no, no, no’s” get terribly tiring. And you can’t exactly tell them to put it on their birthday or Christmas list. So now that our son is old enough to understand, to some degree, how money works, we decided to try something new. We gave each of them a certain amount of money for the week that they could spend as they liked (for the most part). Of course we gave them some guidance, such as, “I think that giant sombrero would be difficult to get home” or “those dangly earrings are a little long for you.” But overall it was a great success. “Are you sure that’s what you want because then you’ll only have $2 left” got those little wheels turning. We could see them thinking it over and making the difficult decisions. There was still plenty of whining concerning other issues, and we had to deal with the fallout of purchases not smartly made, but it was still mostly a relief to let the kids take over the responsibility of what to buy.

We hear plenty of whining, screaming, and crying over this same issue here in the store. And that is perfectly normal, especially in today’s consumer culture. Young children don’t understand why they can’t just have what they want. Older children always have that great reason why they should be allowed to have what they want. And they all have an idea of what’s fair: “Why shouldn’t I be allowed to buy something when I have to spend so long shopping for what mom wants?” Some parents tell their children to put it on their wish lists. Some parents just say “no” and walk over their tantruming child. Some parents tell their children to pick out one thing each. Some parents give in at some point and buy what the child wants. And some parents look exasperated. If you are one of those exasperated parents, or even if you’re not, it never hurts to teach your children about the value of money. To prep for the trip, we established an allowance. This allowance is not dependent on any jobs that have to be done (after all, we all have to do chores because we are all members of the family), but always given weekly in order for them to begin to understand how money works. When they would like to make an impulse buy,we ask, “Are you sure you want to buy that now, or would you like to save up for something you really want?” And when they want to make a big purchase we say, “If you save up for X number of weeks, you’ll be able to buy that.” Okay. It doesn’t always work. Sometimes they just want what they want when they want it. But it is awfully nice not to have to fight about it all the time. And I think they are actually starting to understand, as mom always said, that money doesn’t grow on trees!