By: Marvelous Mouse Travels
We’ve all been faced with those pleads of our children to buy a “must-have” toy or gadget in a gift shop while traveling. Talking to your children about their upcoming vacation and what the rules and limits to spending is essential to prevent possible meltdowns.
Decide On A Budget
Are you going to foot the bill for the souvenirs or are you going to have your child/ren save for their spending money? Once you decide who will be buying the souvenirs, you can set a realistic budget. Depending on how it works for your family you can break down the budget to a daily amount or a total amount over the duration of the trip.
Let Your Child/ren Know The Budget Before You Travel
Allowing your kids ample time to understand the rules and budget will help reduce any confusion and hopefully begging in the the stores. If your children are young, you can provide examples of souvenirs they might enjoy and pricing.
How Children Can Save Their Own Money
If you are leaving the budget in your children’s hands, depending on how much they save, you will probably need to provide ways for them to earn money. If they already earn allowance, you can add extra chores that they can earn money. If they don’t already have allowance, making a board with chores and paying per chore. For example, our family has a board and they initial by the chore they’ve completed and get paid 50 cents per chore at the end of the week. Do any children have a birthday or holiday coming up? Instead of asking for toys, they can ask family for gift cards to their destination in anticipation for their trip.
Time To Travel
No matter your families preference on spending, allowing your children some autonomy will help them understand how much things cost and as they get older, appreciate the value of the dollar.
Please reach out to Marvelous Mouse Travels for more information.
