Frugality Taught Early is Key to Frugal Christmas
December 4th 2006 06:43
One of the biggest wastes of money at Christmastime are the hundreds of dollars in toys bought for young, two and three-year-old kids. I remember visiting the house of family friends when I was a boy. Their children who were but toddlers had received dozens of new toys
Most of the toys were broken. Not all. It was only February. But throughout the year, I saw reminders of how rough little kids could be as expensive toys bit the dust and hundreds of dollars spent on them was simply gone.
Now, to be fair, not all children are quite that hard on their toys, but the point still remains. Buying young children expensive presents isn’t going to make their Christmases any brighter or happier. Parents out there hunting down big toys to bring home can cut it out.
If we’re honest, one and two-year-old children, and few three year olds, sit there and demand high end consumer toys. It’s parents who either want to recreate their own childhood or give kids what they never had for Christmas. Cute, now please grow up.
Sorry, to be blunt, but you’re the parents, and you are your child’s greatest teacher. If you teach them that the quality of life is based on the quantity of presents they get, that will be the lesson your kids will carry forward for the rest of their days.
If you’ve got a young child, stop! Don’t waste money buying them presents they don’t want or need and choose now as a time to redefine how you do Christmas. Focus on inexpensive toys they will enjoy. A particularly good idea is to buy toys that won’t cause you stress when they get broken (because they will break.)
In addition, keep your kids away from commercial television as long and as much as possible. The reason: Commercial television has the primary goal of selling things. The way commercial television works with your children is to turn them into beggars for whatever the latest toy is. While eventually, they’ll have to deal with advertising, most two or three year olds don’t need to mess with it.
Where this advice isn’t taken, parents always run into a challenge of having to change a child’s preset expectations rather than working from an existing value set.
Teach your kids the true meaning of Christmas and avoid commercialization like the plague and you’ll avoid wasted money and wasted opportunity to enjoy the true joys of Christmas.
Most of the toys were broken. Not all. It was only February. But throughout the year, I saw reminders of how rough little kids could be as expensive toys bit the dust and hundreds of dollars spent on them was simply gone.
Now, to be fair, not all children are quite that hard on their toys, but the point still remains. Buying young children expensive presents isn’t going to make their Christmases any brighter or happier. Parents out there hunting down big toys to bring home can cut it out.
If we’re honest, one and two-year-old children, and few three year olds, sit there and demand high end consumer toys. It’s parents who either want to recreate their own childhood or give kids what they never had for Christmas. Cute, now please grow up.
Sorry, to be blunt, but you’re the parents, and you are your child’s greatest teacher. If you teach them that the quality of life is based on the quantity of presents they get, that will be the lesson your kids will carry forward for the rest of their days.
If you’ve got a young child, stop! Don’t waste money buying them presents they don’t want or need and choose now as a time to redefine how you do Christmas. Focus on inexpensive toys they will enjoy. A particularly good idea is to buy toys that won’t cause you stress when they get broken (because they will break.)
In addition, keep your kids away from commercial television as long and as much as possible. The reason: Commercial television has the primary goal of selling things. The way commercial television works with your children is to turn them into beggars for whatever the latest toy is. While eventually, they’ll have to deal with advertising, most two or three year olds don’t need to mess with it.
Where this advice isn’t taken, parents always run into a challenge of having to change a child’s preset expectations rather than working from an existing value set.
Teach your kids the true meaning of Christmas and avoid commercialization like the plague and you’ll avoid wasted money and wasted opportunity to enjoy the true joys of Christmas.
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