If you are a parent or grandparent, you have heard “I want this, I want that”. It is simply part of being a parent. Teaching your child self-control and that sometimes we get what we want and sometimes we don’t, is also part of parenting.
We are now in the midst of summer where these “I wants” get more frequent. Throw in a summer family vacation and we are looking at maximum “I wants”. The tips in the next few paragraphs are ones pertaining to a trip to Disney but will work on any trip.
We learned from one of our Research families years ago that if you give your child a set amount at the beginning of the trip and let them know this is all they get for the length of the stay, they tend to not ask so much. They are in control of what they spend. We of course had to address the wanting to spend all of it the first day but once we reminded them a couple times that if they spent it all that day on a stuffed Mickey Mouse or a Cinderella dress, they would have nothing, they seemed to get it. We suggest they keep looking to make sure they don’t find something they want more and if they end up truly wanting what they saw on the first day, we will come back and get it. We always build time in on our last day to Disney to go back to our favorite rides and attractions and grab any extra little gifts and items we need to pick up. Once we taught this spending plan, they realized what they saw at first is usually not what they want and move on. However, they have the assurance they can go back if it is what they want. Many stores in Disney carry the same items so this is also easier on a Disney trip to find wanted items later on. We have found $20 to $25 is a good number per child for spending money.
In our last few trips we have tried a different route. As our kids are now older (10 and 5), they do work around the house for money. We do not give allowance, they have their household chores they do as part of our family and then there are jobs they can do to earn money. If they do not do any of these jobs, they do not get money. This is teaching them that in life people will not just give you money, you have to earn it and we are trying to instill that now. So what we have done is set up a list of things they can do to earn money. The older one has everything from taking recycling out to cleaning the toilets (she loves this one as it makes her the most money). The little one can vacuum the wood floors (we have a small battery powered stick vacuum) , put the dog’s toys away, and even shred papers if I am in the office to supervise. It is amazing what kids can do if you walk them through it a couple times to show them how to do it properly. Not only does it instill in them work habits, it takes a load off of my To Do list. When we are getting closer to a Disney vacation, the work goes into full speed. They know whatever they do now is spending money for down there. They tend to take more money on our trip then when I was giving them only $20 a child for spending money. I typically surprise them when we get down there and throw in an extra $10 as well.
We literally do not have the “I wants” anymore. They know the guidelines and we do not have the battles in the parks we used to have. Our family vacations are less argumentative thanks to a little planning and hard work ahead of time. Not to mention it is one more way to plan your Disney vacation budget. Either way, you are less likely to have those unexpected high ticketed purchases bought for kids while down there. You have parameters before going.
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