Vacation!

I'm back. It's been awhile since I've written. My family and I went to Florida last week to visit the famous rodent in Orlando. We always stay on site since there is so much to offer. At our resort we could take a boat to Downtown Disney every day where there are shops and restaurants. We also get free transportation to the theme parks. The pools there are wonderful and the kids spent lots of time in them.

I've always loved Disney but in the last few years, I feel the tug of rampant consumerism eminating throughout the 'Kingdom'. It seems like everything you see is extremely overpriced. I had forgotten my hair conditioner at home. If I don't use it I look like a badly groomed poodle. I went into the store at the resort to find some. A tiny bottle of conditioner (1 oz.) was $1.69. I won't pay that at home for a regular bottle! Unfortunately my hair was crying out for the stuff so I paid for two bottles.

When we checked into the hotel the first day my husband gave each of the kids 50 Disney Dollars (equivalent to $50.00 US). Usually when we go to the 'Kingdom' they would see things they wanted. My husband and I would try to figure out who got what and how much money had been spent. This time was different. The kids had to learn how to budget their own money. When it was gone, it was gone.

Immediately after checking in they wanted to go to the store in the resort that had all kinds of Disney stuff (clothes, animals, housewares, etc.). My 7 year old daughter went right to the stuffed animals, her passion, to see what she wanted to buy. She had picked up one she loved. As I watched, she looked at the price and put it down. "I'm going to wait on this because I might find something I like better later", she stated. Unbelievably we walked out of the store empty handed.

The next night we went to Downtown Disney and walked around. We went into the childrens' clothing department.

"Can you believe these prices?", she said to me. "I can't believe how high they are!"

"Look at this!", my husband exclaimed, pointing to a shirt. "Do you like it?"

My daughter went over and looked at the price tag.

"It's nice, Dad, but look at the price! It's ridiculous! You can buy it for me if you want, but I'm not paying that price out of my own money!"

It's as if a light had gone on.

The next stop was at the LEGO store. It's my son's favorite place in the whole world. They carry every kind of LEGO that was ever invented. I knew this was where he would spend most of his money.

We wandered around a while, but my daughter and I left for a while as the boys looked around. Around 20 minutes later we returned to find my son empty handed.

"Didn't you find anything?" I asked.

"Yeah, but I'm going to wait. I have to figure out what I really might want later in the week to make sure I'm making the right decision", he replied.

I was wondering what had happened to my children. Although we certainly don't buy them everything they want at home because of our rules, it was usually open season at Disney. Not this time, though.

All week I would watch them looking around. They looked at the items and the prices and learned what they could and could not live without. In the end they came home having spent all of their $50.00. Of course, Grandma gave them an extra ten dollars each near the end for which they were incredibly grateful. It was like Christmas all over again.

I have to admit it was so hard to watch them debate over how they were going to spend their precious money but at the same time it was quite rewarding to see them learn about budgeting. Our jobs at parents and teachers was working.

I stopped giving weekly allowances several years ago. As their passbooks would fill up they felt we should go shopping and use it. Now they get no allowance but have more chores. They sometimes complain but they need to know that they are a part of the family and chores should not be monetarily rewarded. We all have to work together to keep things going. I haven't heard complaints for quite a while now. I've also told my mother she is not to pay them for helping her around her house and yard. The reward should be higher self-esteem and self-satisfaction.

It just seems that people today are so used to getting what they want regardless of the consequences. Their houses can't be big enough. Their cars can't be fancy enough. Their children can never be imperfect no matter what the cost. Their debts are out of control because they believe they are entitled to anything they want.

How sad.