Wish List

With tough economic times this is the perfect opportunity to teach our children some valuable life lessons. We all know how hard it is to sway our begging children. By always caving we send a message that instant gratification is a reasonable life expectation. With my daughter I started the "wish list". She then began to understand that great things are worth the wait. I was able to gauge how badly she wanted the toy. When she would stop mentioning the toy I would know that it must not have been as urgent. When buying things I try to get things that I know will get a lot of mileage. The number of toys that collect dust is astounding. I try to encourage Grandparents to find non toy items for gifts. My dad has bought DVDs in the past and my mom has bought art supplies and magazine subscriptions. I have recently talked with my husband and friends about their thoughts concerning these issues. I posed the question, what do you remember most about your childhood... your experiences or materials? Most often the answer is the experiences.