Earlier this year we started giving Catherine an allowance ($1.50/week) if she completed her chores with a cheerful attitude each week. We wanted to start teaching her to give her tithe to church (she puts in a quarter on Sunday), save some (a quarter in the piggy bank), and then she has $1 to spend. When she had saved about $5-$6 she wanted to go to Target to buy something for her baby doll. We went and saw all the baby things you can get for $5---an outfit, a bottle, a little bitty baby doll, etc.
But then she spotted this whole box of baby accessories---it includes a pack-n-play, highchair, bouncy seat, carseat, carrier, and changing pad. That was what she wanted for sure. Only problem: it costs $20. So I tried to explain that she didn't have that much money and she had to make a decision. She could either buy something small today with her $5 or she could save her money (a long time if you're only getting $1/week) and buy it later in the summer. Oh what a dilemma she had! We had to walk around Target and have counseling sessions in the aisles about this. That's a really hard decision for a 4 year old to make, but in the end she decided to not buy something that day and save her money to get what she wanted. So we snapped a picture of the toy box on my cell phone to keep as a reminder/motivator and we headed back home.
So, for the last 2 months, she has been saving her allowance and doing extra chores (helping me clean out closets, organize dressers, and do additional chores without me asking) so that she could earn enough money for her baby doll accessories. About once or twice a week she would look at the picture on my phone and talk about all the things she wanted to do with those toys and how much her baby dolls were going to love them. She is such a little mother to them!
Finally this past weekend, she had enough saved. I told her on Friday night that we could go on Saturday and she was ready to go by 7am. So here she is with her long awaited purchase!!
She had her money in a ziploc bag and gave it to the cashier. She only had 6 cents left over, which she generously gave to Will. She did ask if she really had to give him the money to pay for it. It's a little different than when she "pays" for things when we play pretend, so I assured her that yes, you have to give him the money or you can't have the toys. But then she spotted this whole box of baby accessories---it includes a pack-n-play, highchair, bouncy seat, carseat, carrier, and changing pad. That was what she wanted for sure. Only problem: it costs $20. So I tried to explain that she didn't have that much money and she had to make a decision. She could either buy something small today with her $5 or she could save her money (a long time if you're only getting $1/week) and buy it later in the summer. Oh what a dilemma she had! We had to walk around Target and have counseling sessions in the aisles about this. That's a really hard decision for a 4 year old to make, but in the end she decided to not buy something that day and save her money to get what she wanted. So we snapped a picture of the toy box on my cell phone to keep as a reminder/motivator and we headed back home.
So, for the last 2 months, she has been saving her allowance and doing extra chores (helping me clean out closets, organize dressers, and do additional chores without me asking) so that she could earn enough money for her baby doll accessories. About once or twice a week she would look at the picture on my phone and talk about all the things she wanted to do with those toys and how much her baby dolls were going to love them. She is such a little mother to them!
Finally this past weekend, she had enough saved. I told her on Friday night that we could go on Saturday and she was ready to go by 7am. So here she is with her long awaited purchase!!
1 comment:
love it! we love little catherine too!
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