We are pretty sure that all of you, being responsible parents, want your children to grow up with the right understanding of the world around them. In today’s world of advertising and material excess, raising a non Materialistic child is more difficult than ever. To avoid this fate and to show your children that the best things in life are free, you need to actively combat our Materialistic culture. We are sharing few tips to show you how.
- Limit the number of gift you bestow on your child, reward your kids with time not special things.
Giving your children gifts as rewards, that’s not fair. The more present you give ,the higher your child’s expectation will be. Instead of this show your child your love, give a hug, take him/her on a family outing ,etc. All of these are memorable and valuable moments that your child cherish and value. Giving your child new experiences and unconditional love is more rewarding than purchasing for them. It is necessary to teach children the real meaning of happiness. - Ask your kids to earn their treats.
If your kids ask for something they want (rather than something they really need),teach them the value of saving and delayed gratification by asking them to earn. For example:- Ask them to complete a number of chores to earn the money needed for the treat.-Set up a savings budget that you feel, a little money into on weekly basis to show your kids the power of saving. - Teach kids to be skeptical of advertisements.
Young children are very impressionable so it is important that you teach them to be skeptical of advertising from early age, as well limit their exposure. Indeed the fewer advertisements your children watch, the less they will crave the items. Limit exposure to TV commercial, by limiting their time to television and Internet you can get their focus off the advertising character and other stuff so that they can focus more on other positive things around them and learn to find happiness in real people rather than things. - Teach them gratitude, the habit of giving not getting.
Children should be taught at an early age to be grateful for what they have must be empathetic to other’s need. Reminding kids about how fortunate they are will dampen their desire for more material possessions. It may also encourage them to get involved with charities and learn to share with other kids.