The Festive Season in India has begun in many parts of the country today. During this time, amidst all the rush to buy clothes, decorations, gifts, crackers, etc., we often lose control over our expenditures and forget the value of money. More than anyone else, festivals are a big deal for kids. They expect gifts, clothes and are always enthusiastic about most of the things.
Now, although the visible happiness of your family, during these times, is something you’d not trade for anything, these are what exactly contribute to burning a hole in your pockets. And this is not the only flip side of festive seasons.
Have you ever thought, the kind of message, your relentless shopping sprees, might send to your children? And how, by catering to each and every demand of theirs, will they learn the true meaning and value of money? Without sounding too harsh or rude to your kids, there are ways through which you can help your children understand exactly how valuable is Money.
Table of Content
1. Don’t Entertain Unnecessary Demands always keep in mind The value of money
It is quite normal, as parents, to take care of each and every demand of your children. But sometimes your children, although innocently, might keep on increasing their demands, since they understand that being parents, you’d never say no to them. So in this season, this is where you draw the line.
Don’t be too harsh on them or try to rebuke them. Rather try to explain them as to how you are only capable of buying them gifts one at a time. Try to talk to them about the importance of money and why it’s important to save first before spending. And don’t get mad if they do not understand. After all, they’re only kids and chances are that they will not actually understand.
Just don’t give in to their demands. And remember, getting angry will not at all work here, as these are delicate things. How you approach them will have a lot of effect on how they understand.
We often feel that we should not burden our kids with stories of exactly how hard their parents work for money to keep them happy and safe. But this is where we have been wrong all this time. Telling your kids about your hardships is not only extremely important but will also get them more involved in the family matters and you should also be able to see a change in their behaviour, in money matters. Explaining to them just how important it is to save money for the future, can also be a good way to teach them about the value of money.
3. Don’t Buy Firecrackers
Speaking about the value of money this Diwali, the one unnecessary outflow of money we all indulge in is Firecrackers! We know that it is quite impossible to imagine a Diwali without Firecrackers but environmentalists around the world have been warning us about the ill effects of them all these years, and time and again it has been shown how detrimental these are for our health especially of the kids’.
So, this year might be the perfect time to finally teach your kids why they should avoid burning firecrackers. Even if they do, make sure that it’s in a lesser amount and you at least let them know how these things are bad.
4. Make Them Meet Under-Privileged Kids
Just like your son or your daughter, someone else too has children, waiting eagerly for their parents, to bring home Diwali crackers, gifts and sweets. But the difference between you and them lies in the fact that while your children are blessed to enjoy these, someone else’s family might go hungry or if lucky, may share only a piece or two between themselves.
This disparity, however disheartening, can show your kids the actual reality of life. You can imbibe in them from a very young age, what big difference money plays in our lives. And thus explain to them the value of money that they are lucky to be having. This could also make them more considerate towards people and they’ll definitely grow to be better human beings.
5. Teach them the Value of Money with The Value Of Recycling
Does your child want a new item, everytime the old ones stop working? If that’s the case then post every Diwali, you must have a whole lot of useless items lying about, in the house. So what you can do is take these moments and use them to teach your children exactly how important reusing and recycling is. Talk to them about how cost saving these can be and how these from beneficial from an environmental standpoint as well.
However, try not to make it into a full-blown lecture otherwise your words will fall on deaf ears only. Rather use these useless articles to make fun art and craft items. If something does not work anymore, teach your child how to repair it. Teach them how to make the best out of the waste.
6. Sharing is Caring
And last but not the least, Diwali can be just the perfect occasion to teach the value of sharing, to your kids. Once you build in them the habit of sharing, the money will automatically start growing and will teach your kids how, in a whole multitude of ways, this habit can be leveraged. Make sure you explain to them, why you want them to share and how beneficial it will be for them ultimately.
These simple solutions do not require monumental efforts and when eventually they’ll learn this sometime in their lives, why not start early. The festive seasons bring along with them immense joy and happiness. Let this festive season also harbour intentions of goodwill, the value money and a frugal approach towards spending, in your children.
Here’s wishing our readers a very Happy and Prosperous Diwali in advance.
