My mom had a good idea when it comes to kids begging for stuff at the store.
Long before I came along, she had 3 boys - each 18 months apart - and when they went to the store, they would invariably see something they wanted. A toy, candy, whatever.
So when they would whine, "I want that!" she would calmly say, "Wait. Let me tell you what I want first. I'd love a new dishwasher and maybe some new clothes and new pots and pans and..."
Instead of getting upset, she would turn it around and give them all a litany of what she wanted that she didn't get. Ha! I love it!
She said they finally got tired of hearing it and stopped asking. I do that sometimes with Brady but since it's just him and he is, I'm quite certain, a future debate champion, it turns into some long drawn out discussion about why I don't go and get those things and then that leads to financial and economic discussions. Ugh.
So usually I just say, "Well, next time bring your own money and you can buy it!"
I just usually say "NO" before they even open their mouths to ask. As soon as I hear "mommy" I say "NO". Its funny but they never ask for anything much now either. :)
ReplyDeleteLOL, that's good. They don't even get that far!
DeleteHmmm, I'm not sure if that would work with mine. lol
ReplyDeleteDoesn't quite with my guy either, but I think it's a good idea :)
DeleteI've been dealing with this all summer! I finally got so sick of it a couple weeks ago I told my kids I'm not buying them a single thing in the month of July unless it's necessary for survival, like food. They're not even allowed to ask or there are consequences.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good idea, just put a moratorium on it for awhile :)
DeleteI love that! And, I'm glad your boy asks questions that lead to financial discussions! We have a lot of those in my house, and our boys are 9 and 5!
ReplyDeleteRoshni, I'm glad he asks too. He asks and talks about *everything* He is a thinker and a talker.
DeleteI have tried that at various times and all I get are blank stares! :) My kids are pretty good at using their own money on little things and we also talk often about "want" vs. "need".
ReplyDeleteWant vs need is a wonderful discussion! Then my son says, "But we NEED water and food and a house and we have to pay for that. Why is that? That's not fair!" LOL. Using his own money is our go-to plan also.
DeleteI take my kids usually once or twice a month to the dollar store. I let the two oldest spend a few bucks each time and get what they want. And I pick out a couple of things for the baby. We do this and agree that this is their treat for the month. So I don't want to hear a bunch of gimme gimme gimme when we go to any other store. If I do - then we cut out the next dollar store trip. They learned pretty quickly to not get the gimmes :)
ReplyDeleteThat's cool! They know when treat time is, so they don't worry about it the rest of the time. I guess that's kind of how our prize store/reading store works too. He gets treats from there that he "buys" with fake money he earns, so he can't complain he doesn't get much :)
DeleteThis is an everyday issue with us. Jasmyn has this idea that if we go to the store she MUST and I mean MUST walk out with something.It ends with major tantrums if she doesnt get one thing. The tough part now is that she can actually read the price tags. I have tried this tactic as well but it doesnt seem to work. She always replies with "You can just work more to make more money" :/
ReplyDeleteI like some of the ideas in the comments about having a particular day when they can or maybe a kid can earn play money through chores or behavior to substitute for real money to buy something.
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