Our children today are raised in a very materialistic society. They are marketed to constantly by predatory advertisers. Companies develop shows that revolve around an entire line of toys, games, and videos. The message to kids today is buy, buy, buy!
In school, a child’s popularity is often a direct result of having the most and best toys, or from having the nicest clothes. The message is sent that a person’s self-worth is directly tied to their ability to own things. How sad!
Teaching a frugal lifestyle to kids is the antidote to this sickness, and has many benefits.
For example:
Frugal children are creative. They learn to think outside the box, and see multiple uses for common things. A piece of aluminum foil becomes more than something to wrap vegetables in on the grill. It becomes a way to correct the magnetic field of your TV set, a way to remove rust from your car’s bumper, a scissors sharpener, and a way to remove static cling from clothes.
Kids that are creative can go on to invent new things and find solutions to problems that plague society. They embrace multiple possibilities and solutions for things. What a great mindset to cultivate in a child!
Teaching frugal living also helps kids learn to manage their time and resources and not be wasteful. Are you out of wrapping paper for a present for a birthday party? Don’t hop in the car and spend your gasoline and time getting an item or two.
Encourage your child to make some wrapping paper. Surely there are comics, colored paper, aluminum foil, stickers, glitter, markers, pieces of cloth, felt, crayons etc. in your home they can use?
Making do with what you have is a good thing to teach a child. As adults, they won’t always have the financial wherewithal to indulge every purchasing whim, nor the time to drive, shop and wait in line for small items. Being resourceful with what lies at hand is a way to instill some sense of basic restraint and discipline.
Frugal living also improves the quality of your family’s life. You don’t spend money impulsively and waste your time and resources running around shopping. The money you save can be used for the enrichment of your own family.
What you save on buying second hand school clothes, packing homemade lunches, and setting reasonable limits on Christmas shopping, can be put towards a great family vacation, for example.
Enlist your kids in the selection of what to cut back on and what to save for. They will become willing partners in your plans to conserve, and learn lots in the process.
Irene Helen Zundel is a freelance writer, educator and mother, and an expert in child development, home schooling and creative parenting and home making.
Visit her online at http://www.irenehelenzundel.com
