What should I do when my children ask for expensive things?
I think parents have to keep in mind that they don't have to buy their kids everything that the kid wants, especially if it's expensive clothes or gear. I think that parents don't have enough confidence in themselves and they think that kids are only going to listen to their peers or they're going to listen to the media. But if Mom and Dad say no, we're not going to do this, then the kids actually listen to you. The younger they are when they hear you say no the better it is. But it's "no" with a reason. No, we don't really need a new video game system right now, because the one you have is fine. No, I'm not going to spend all that much money on a pair of jeans because then I don't have enough to spend on tops or shoes or other things that go into my clothing budget or my back-to-school budget. They need to hear you give your rationale for spending decisions. The second thing is, they need to have a stake in these things. If they want to buy an expensive pair of jeans and it's coming out of their clothing budget then they're going to think, oh dear, do I really want to spend 15 bucks? if I have $30 to spend that's half my budget. I only have $15 left to buy tops, maybe I don't want to do that. Or again, if they want an iPod, have them save for the iPod. So you'll say, I'll pay a portion of it, but if you want this you have to buy it on your own, so that they have skin in the game - a stake in this. They will spend unlimited amounts of money as long as it's yours; when their money is on the line it is a totally different ball game.
