Teach Your Child That The Best Things Are Not Bought With Money

Teach your child that the best things in life are not bought with money. Tell him that what gives happiness is neither bought nor sold. Lead him right away in that world where affections must always be put first, where sharing time together between laughter and complicity is worth much more than a toy, more than a little time on the computer, more than anything what he saved in his piggy bank.

Benjamin Franklin was right when he said that anyone who thinks that money can buy everything will reasonably make others suspect that he is capable of doing anything for money. This is not the right thing. However, we must admit, we live in a society that wants us to believe this. A society in which  we ourselves as adults live subordinate to a world in which consumerism rules everything. And in which, almost without realizing it, we transmit this same value to the little ones.

Today at  “We are Mothers” we want you to reflect with us on some interesting aspects and habits that will surely be useful to you in the education of your children.

The most beautiful things are not bought with money, they come from the heart

Zygmunt Bauman, who recently passed away,  taught us what liquid relationships were and why we live in a world anxious for novelty, clinging to transitory things today. Made of disposable loves, of wild consumerism, of selfishness …

We are immersed in an ever-fluctuating economy, in a torrent of fashions that come and go, obsessing about always having the latest model of everything, the latest smartphone or the most fashionable toy  (as is the case with fidget spinners right now. ). All of this makes us  subordinate to having a recyclable life, in which to always change what we have for something newer. In which almost nothing seems to be lasting and in which, moreover, we are forced victims of a world full of stimuli in which everything has a price. Where everything is bought and everything is sold.

Our children, even if we don’t realize it, are extremely receptive and understand all these dynamics. And if so, it’s for a very simple reason: that’s how they see us. That said, no matter how hard we sometimes try to show them that “money doesn’t buy everything” there is one thing they will immediately perceive themselves.

Time is money. If mum and dad are not at home or come back tired it is because they go to work, because they have to bring home the salary. Therefore, it is inevitable that children immediately attribute a value to money … So let’s see how we can manage this complex situation in which we are all entangled.

The time we spend together is priceless

If you are working moms or fathers who work from Monday to Saturday, you don’t have to obsess over the little time you share with your little ones. The only thing you need to focus on is making sure that those moments in which you are together become authentic moments of magic, complicity and happiness.

• Don’t make the mistake of giving children gifts with the idea of ​​making them happy after you come home late or because you can’t be with them as long as you would like.
• Avoid material gifts, prefer emotional gifts: play a little together in the living room, take a walk in the park, an escape together at the cinema.

Think that the shared moments are those that create that emotional memory in the child that leaves an indelible mark. A toy is not capable of having this impact on the baby’s brain, so remember: give moments, not things. 

You have to take care of things to last and nurture relationships to thrive

To prevent our children from “falling” early in this liquid society that the philosopher Zygmunt Bauman told us about, it is necessary to help them immediately understand a series of fundamental aspects.

Our objects, our “things” must be taken care of in order to last

• We must take care of what is ours; every object, toy, technological tool, dress or utensil must be kept well until it is no longer useful. Things are not discarded or thrown away just because they bore us or because “we want the latest model”.
• Dad and Mom aren’t the people who are there to buy us everything we want. They will only give us what we need.

If we instill in our children the value of taking care of their personal items, avoiding the classic desire to buy and consume, we will be doing them a favor.

In the same way, just as we take care of toys to keep them from breaking, of our pets to be healthy, comfortable and happy,  we must also take care of relationships with the people we love.

Teach them how to care for the people we love

• We need to take care of the people we love by spending time with them.
• We have to worry about how they are, and to do this we can observe their expression or simply ask them how they are today.
• We always try to have fun times with them.
• To tell a special person that we love her, it is not necessary to buy her a gift, just tell her or make her, for example, a beautiful drawing.

In conclusion, we all understand that we live in a clearly consumerist society. Therefore, we try to make our children live in a world of feelings right from the start. In which what is best is not the “things”, but the affections.