How Not to Spoil Your Kids with Gifts

Today’s children often do not have the opportunity to dream of owning a particular toy of gadget – they believe that it is their due to get anything they want. This urban myth is very common all over the globe, and it seems that parents don’t do much to bust it. Christmas was a perfect time for giving and receiving, and there was also a chance that your children would take all the gifts for granted. No matter what, here are some tips on how not to spoil your kids with too many and too expensive gifts.

Define ‘Needs’ Vs. ‘Wants’

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Your children should realise the difference between the things they actually need, such as a new jacket or shoes for winter, and some random gadgets they want because ‘everyone has them’. Besides that, you should set realistic expectations about the number of gifts they can expect to receive. One of the best ways to do that is to translate the price of the particular item they want to get into hours that it takes for parents to earn that thing.

Write Thank-You Notes

Writing thank-you notes seems to be very outdated nowadays, simply because we live in the era of the expansion of the Internet which simplified that process. However, your children should know that writing those letters of gratitude will help them grow up into thoughtful young people who care about others. All the aunts and grannies in the world will be touched with this small token of appreciation. Even preschoolers can do that with parents’ help. They will soon realise that the most important things in life aren’t of material nature.

Encourage Your Children to Give to Charity

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Encourage your kids to give at least one toy or piece of clothing to charity when they send their letters to Santa. Try to make them realise that not all of the children out there were lucky enough to have everything they have. Inspire your little girls to give away that flower girl dress, together with those fantastic flower girl basket and a crown and maybe even shoes -they wore on your sister’s wedding last month, so that other girls feel like princesses, too. Tell your boys that their favourite toy truck will make other boys more than happy. This will make them figure out that helping the ones in need is an amazing thing to do, especially during holidays.

Don’t Let Them Take Presents for Granted

If you continually smother your kids with presents, no matter the occasion, they surely won’t pay much attention to them and will take them for granted. Instead of doing that, it would be much better to let them express their wishes – without fulfilling them immediately. This will make them appreciate presents and respect the tradition of giving and receiving.

If your children learn to dream about something that is not available immediately, they will certainly teach how to be grateful and satisfied whenever you decide to surprise them. Throwing tantrums will also be avoided this way. This is definitely a part of a learning process that takes place every day, not just for Christmas or birthdays. How do you make sure your children aren’t spoiled during these events?