Fun and easy lessons to help your kids understand that money does not grow on trees

I’ve talked both here and here about my journey in helping teach JP the value of a dollar. It’s been a slow-go, but atleast I feel like our money talks actually do sink in, because he’ll reference things I mention just out of the blue. I’ve always fround that the best way to get through to kids is to make the topic in which you’re teaching into a game – so they don’t even realize that they are *gasp* learning.

Genworth Financial - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Genworth Financial - http://www.behindthestudio.com

“That will be four dollars, mama!”

JP’s new favorite game now is playing store – and I’m beginning to think it has a lot to do with all the talks we’ve had about money. This weekend, we played store and my job was to play customer while he mans the cash register. He really likes to open the till because it makes that really nifty ‘ding’ sound, and that’s when he thrusts his hand out and expects me to hand him the green bills.

He really likes to grab that money too!

Genworth Financial - http://www.behindthestudio.com

All of this money-business really came to light when  reading this article about women and finances. I’m every bit responsible for teaching JP about where it all comes from. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to worth directly with Genworth Financial, which opened my eyes to doing this activity with JP altogether.

It certainly is a learning experience for both of us – what’s interesting for me is trying to see the world from JP’s eyes to better understand they way he thinks.


Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network.

Why I am giving up sugary drinks for good

Here’s me the other night as I sat nervously awaiting what terrible news my dentist had to tell me. I was having some jaw pain that wouldn’t quit, and a crumbled molar to go with it, so I knew it was time to see a dentist. Never quite being a fan of the dental chair,  I was hoping to hear that it could be easily fixed up and sent on my way home. Unfortunately for me, the news wasn’t quite what I wanted to hear.

Dentist: (Having never met me before and examining my X-rays) “You drink alot of soda…” He continued on to lecture me about oral hygiene and why I shouldn’t drink sugary drinks, even if I brush my teeth afterwards or drink through a straw. “It changes the PH in your mouth” he said simply.

Somehow, I felt like I 10 years old and in trouble at the principal’s office. I shifted nervously in the chair, and my eyes began to well up with hot tears because I knew some bad news was about to come my way. I knew I was guilty and my day had finally arrived – being a soda addict has finally caught up with me.

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Let this be the example of why you should not drink soda, and let my mistakes not be yours. Remember I talked about being sick with an awful sinus infection? Well, here is the culprit – and I am mortified by it, which is also why I’m sharing it. If you are a heavy soda drinker (like me) let this be the example of what will happen to your teeth if you’re a 3-4 can a day drinker like me.

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Yup. That’s my tooth. Horrified yet?

So I decided that I wasn’t going to have a tooth pulled from my mouth without having it be an example to share, especially for my JP. He is barely 4 years old, and it’s a real difficult to get him interested in brushing his teeth.

I’m sure you’ve met the routine, if you have a little one – bribing, pleading, timeout, yelling and then tears. rinse and repeat.

It’s definately a challenge, but I think I’ve figured out a way to get in his little head. When I returned home from the Dentist, the very next day I made it a point to show him what happened to me and explain to him why. The last thing I ever want is my baby to have to experience having a tooth pulled from his head!

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

He held it in his hand and ran his fingers over the jagged edge.

Me: “Do you know why I had my tooth pulled out”

JP: “Why, mama?”

Me: “Mommy ate too many sweets, and it broke my teeth. The dentist said it had to go, and it was why mommy has been so sick” (he’s pretty familiar with me being sick, since I’ve been blowing my nose for a month)

JP: “Oh”

Me: “We need to brush yours all the time, so the same thing doesn’t happen to you.”

JP: (to my utter shock) “Ok mommy, lets go brush”

Because of this new revelation, I decided to take him shopping for some new oral hygiene products. I looked at the amazing Firefly toothbrush, that lets the child know how long to brush a certain area by flashing green, yellow and red lights. Are you familiar with the breath freshener Binaca? This is made by the same company.

They even have this amazing fluoride foam toothpaste designed especially for kids – It’s even got JP’s favorite characters on it!

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

It even has a convenient suction cup base for easy, clean storage, I love that!

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Getting him to brush was much, much easier! Maybe sometimes good things come out of bad experiences! His favorite thing is to rinse and spit, but I hate it because he makes a terrible mess of water/saliva and toothpaste spray all over the mirror – everytime.

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Why I'm Giving Up Soda - http://www.behindthestudio.com

…and of course, the mess! Thankfully, I can live with messes, they can cleaned… It’s teeth that can’t be replaced!

I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias® #CBias #SocialFabric

The importance of teaching the ‘money does not grow on trees” lesson to your kids

As a blogger who spends a great deal of time comparing popular brands, shopping the major national chain stores and writing about it, sometimes I feel like I’m giving the wrong message about money to my son. Of course, he doesn’t quite understand what I am doing at these stores, because he thinks we’re just out on a shopping spree. Nonetheless - I treat what I do the same way anyone else would treat their day job.

That being said, we’ve had the talk about money and that you must work to earn said money. I did some online research to see what I could learn and translate to my son on his level, and I found a wealth of information on the topic at Genworth. Not only are the articles about money, but lots of other issues closely related to personal finance and saving your hard earned pennies. What really got my attention was the information provided about women and money and also finding a personal financial advisor – sometimes it’s worth it to get professional help for certain things, so I can concentrate on the things that I’m actually good at, like baking!

So once I spent some time educating myself with the Genworth Resources, I decided to try an experiment at home. With a 4 year old boy, it’s really hard to judge whether or not anything is sinking in – so I decided to try making my point by handing him out pennies he can earn in exchange for things he likes. Some of these things include lollipops, time on the iPad, popsicles and generally anything that’s no good for him. However, i’m willing to overlook that part if the bigger lesson about ‘working for what you want’ is being learned, and I think it is.

How to teach kids that money does not grow on trees - http://www.behindthestudio.com

A penny for picking up toys, a penny for throwing away your juice box – good behavior deserves a reward, right? Well bad behavior can cost you too, cause a stint in timeout will earn you a fine of one penny.

Extreme..? No, I don’t think so. It’s how the real world works, so I may as well teach him all this from the get-go!

He even has a little spiderman wallet that he uses to store his little pennies from mom!

How to teach kids that money does not grow on trees - http://www.behindthestudio.com

Information for this post is sourced from Genworth Financial in partnership with the SheHeard Influencer Network. All opinions are 100% my own.
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