Kids And Consumption

I used to think that consumption was just a terrible disease from pioneer times - "good ol' Zeke died of consumption last winter". Now that I'm a parent and the director of kid's programs at River City Church, I still feel like consumption is a terrible disease and I worry that we can die from it if we don't figure out a way to treat it!

In this drive-thru-have-it-your-way-right-away-make-no-payments-for-a-year-just-do-it world we live in, our kids are bombarded with messages about what they are entitled to, how much they need stuff, what stuff they need to be cool and that all that stuff spells success. Kids are blasted from every angle with the same message: Buy more, spend more, have more.

Experts say that kids between ages 4 to 12 spend some $9 billion annually and influence their parents to spend $130 billion; teens spend another $95 annually. Games, toys, mp3 players, clothes, skateboards, videogames, computers, cell phones - you name it, they've got it.

Thanks to years of economic boom, today's families have made more money than ever before. And many of us have pampered and indulged our kids more than we experienced as kids ourselves. How can we teach our kids the difference between needs and wants where there is really nothing they don't already have? Is it possible to raise kids successfully when we're surrounded by so much materialism?

In a world that seems to revolve around money, many parents struggle to find a balance between down-to-earth values and the comfortable lifestyles we've grown accustomed to. Feeling like your losing the battle to the disease of consumption? Think about this!

• Be a Role Model - Track your own spending for a month and see how much of your money is going to wants instead of needs. Your kids can learn that having money doesn't necessarily mean you need to spend it.
• Talk About Money - Discuss finances with your kids even before they're too young to understand all the details (I started when my kids were 6!)
• Watch TV With Them - You'll be amazed by how much advertising is directed right at them!
• Shop With Them - Use weekly grocery trips as object lessons about prices, quantity, value and needs.
• Wait For Special Occasions - When your kid just "has to have it" put it on a birthday or Christmas list to develop patience and appreciation.
• Set Limits - Give kids prices you are willing to pay for certain items. If they want something more expensive, let them pay the extra themselves from money they earn from chores or jobs. Then they decide how much they really want that item!
• Give them a little $$$ - Before they go shopping, have them make a list of what they need and want. Help them decide what they can afford with the money you've given.
• Teach Tithing - Encourage kids to give 10% of their allowance or job money to a worthy cause.