The majority of parents have experienced the awkward moment in which their child is asking for an item that the parent cannot be able to afford. This could be the item your child is most enthusiastic about and believes he should be able to have. In our situation my daughter, who was a massive Lego enthusiast when a kid, wanted to purchase a 300-dollar Lego set. It’s hard to not give your child a gift however, if they’re asking for something you’re unable to purchase then you likely have to do.
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How can you prevent this situation from happening?
I like being active, so when my kids were small, they were aware of the budget we had set for gift-giving Christmas gifts. In lieu of hindering their Christmas joy my children were able to work creatively with the budget. It was a win-win situation for two reasons:
The first thing is that they didn’t request gifts that were beyond their budget since they knew that we wouldn’t be able to buy them.
Then, my children have learned to search for bargains. For example, my 13-year-old daughter is looking for a variety of items at Bath and Body Works, therefore she gave me her list of Christmas gifts and informed me Bath and Body Works is having a sale at the moment, to allow me to buy her more items within my budget.
What Should You Do If Your child asks for a present you cannot afford?
If you’re unable to purchase the item, there are many options so that your child will eventually acquire it.
Request Grandparents to chip in
If your child’s parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles are the ones who usually give her gifts and you want them to contribute along with you in buying the costly gift she’s looking for.
If the present is too costly, or if the other people who purchase gifts for her aren’t willing to pay there are other alternatives.
Do him additional chores to Perform
You could explain to him the item more if you saved up for it. To assist him in that you could assign him additional chores around your house to earn money faster instead of saving the money he earns each week.
Save the same amount for your child as you do
When she earns additional cash for chores, provide a match to her saving rate. In the event that she earns $100 in savings, you will contribute $100. Particularly if your child is younger the matching savings program is a fantastic strategy to keep her interested as saving for an item that’s hundreds of dollars could be impossible to achieve.
Final Thoughts
Many parents believe that they should provide their children with the presents they want even if they’re costly and require parents to find a new job in order to provide their children with the most amazing Christmas. My husband and me believe in creating a budget that children know about so that they are aware of not expecting too excessively.
If an item isn’t within the budget we have, then I’ll aid the child with additional chores, and match the amount they save. In the end, we aren’t able to get everything we want. We are confined by budgets and have to be extra careful to obtain those things that we desire but aren’t in our budget. This is an excellent lesson for children to understand as well.
