Yes, They Do Know What's Going On

The other day, I went to the grocery store to grab some chicken and tortilla chips for dinner. I was in the chips aisle scanning all of the prices, looking for the best deal. Michaela asked me, "Mom, why do you only buy things on sale?" I was caught a little off guard. Doesn't she know? Especially with Adam as her Dad, she should know about deals. I took this opportunity to teach her budgeting and money management. I told her that Dad gets paid a certain amount of money, we look for the best deals so we can buy more things with that money. I went on to explain, "say you only had $1 and you wanted to buy some candy. This gum costs $1, but these candy bars are on sale for 2/$1. If you bought the sale candy, you would get more."


I think that during these tough times, kids are aware of their parents stress. They also notice that they aren't getting as many things that they used to. We used to eat out several times a week. But now I am super-shopping and making more meals at home. We rarely eat out anymore. Michaela has noticed this. She asks frequently if we can go out to a restaurant. I have to tell her it's not in the budget. These moments are perfect opportunities to teach about money and responsibility. I watched a story on 20/20 about those high school kids that made a video talking about how their parents financial stresses are impacting them. I didn't think I needed to worry about my kids. I thought they were too young to feel unstable, nervous or scared by this economy. But Michaela's recent comments tell a different story. She sees the changes in our spending habits. She's hearing, "we can't afford that" more than ever. My initial instinct is to shield my kids from any stress. I don't want them to worry about money. But experts say they need to be more involved in the family when it comes to finances. I found some articles that were helpful to me, maybe they will be for you too.

http://apahelpcenter.org/articles/article.php?id=185



http://aap.org/disasters/pdf/tips-parentsCaregivers.pdf