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One of
the exciting roles of being a father is teaching your
children a new skill that will benefit them for life. So
when it came time to make a home repair, I brought my
crafty daughter to my favorite home improvement store to
teach her what we needed to fix it. But instead of
heading right to the hardware, my daughter veered to the
right to the bright lights and displays of the holiday
decorating aisle.
My faith
in home improvement stores waned as I realized it put
these dancing snowmen and Cinderella stockings at the
entrance much like grocery stores put candy in the
checkout aisle. So I had to explain to my daughter that
while the Christmas decorations were fun to look at, we
did not come here to buy any because we had a budget to
keep for our home repair project.
It was
then that I realized a previous teaching experience was
indeed remembered by this 4-year-old. "But Daddy,
maybe we can get one when it goes on sale," she
said, as if she had the best idea ever.
I knew
then that the spending demands that often come with
children can be headed off early by involving them in
family shopping and budgeting, as my wife and I do. I
never expected my child to use the words
"sale" and "clearance" while
admiring toys at such a young age.
But this
makes things easier for the holidays when we begin
making lists and teaching the value of shopping after
the holiday. I always thought buying holiday items after
the holiday wasn't as fun as buying them before the
holiday. But that changed when I pulled out the
Halloween
storage in October and found all the decorative treats
my wife had bought last November for as low as
25 cents
.
Something
tells me my daughter is going to be extra giddy when we
get the holiday decorations she admires at a cheaper
price.
Providing
children good financial training early creates a habit
that they will keep forever, especially when you make it
a shopping game as my daughter sees it. Teach children
about budgets and shopping strategies early, even
comparison-shopping on the Internet instead of playing
video games. This will take the focus off the child's
entitlement expectations and make them appreciate the
value of a dollar.
So gather
the children 'round and start making their list, check
it twice and tell them after the holidays they'll get it
for a better price.
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