海角大神

What frugality can teach children

Being frugal can teach your children important lessons, like how you don't have to buy a litany of brand-name things to enjoy life, form friendships, or eat healthily, Hamm says. 

For breakfast this morning, our children had a bowl of plain generic Cheerios with milk and some strawberries from their garden. It was a pretty healthy breakfast, all around, and it was certainly cheap. All three of them finished their bowls, so they must have liked it.

They don鈥檛 think of breakfast as a time to eat a sugar-laden concoction that comes from a box with a bunch of cartoon characters on it. They think of breakfast as time to eat a quick meal before they head off to the day鈥檚 activities.

Right now, our three children are out in the yard playing. I have a window open so I can hear if there鈥檚 an extreme crisis, but they seem to be doing just fine on their own. In fact, as I glance out there, they seem to have turned a cardboard box they found into some sort of throne and are playing a game where someone is the 鈥渒ing鈥� or 鈥渜ueen鈥� and can give orders to the others. Honestly, it鈥檚 not too different than the games I used to play when I was their age.

It鈥檚 a nice summer day. They鈥檙e not inside where they would likely be playing with a toy or a game that someone bought for them and they鈥檙e not in the television room watching a show. They鈥檙e outside. Having fun. With a cardboard box.

In fact, I can鈥檛 actually think of what else I would want them to be doing right now. They鈥檙e reusing an old cardboard box. They鈥檙e engaged in social, imaginative play. They鈥檙e outside getting some fresh air, but the spot where they鈥檙e playing is mostly shaded, so they鈥檙e not getting baked in the sun.

To me, this is frugality. Their memories of childhood, or at least a significant part of them, won鈥檛 revolve around stuff. It鈥檒l revolve around things like spending an afternoon playing with their siblings outside using a cardboard box.

For lunch today, we鈥檙e going to have leftovers paired with some salad made out of lettuce and other greens cut from our garden just before the meal. Again, if I know my children, they鈥檒l gobble most of it up. They鈥檒l probably dislike one or the other of the elements presented to them, but it鈥檚 no big deal.

A bit later today, they have swimming lessons at the public pool in a nearby town. These lessons cost a pittance and our children are learning to swim well. Afterwards, there鈥檚 time for an 鈥渙pen swim鈥� for the children, so they鈥檒l splash around in the pool quite a lot and show off their swimming moves.

The late afternoon will involve time spent at a wonderful local park. The park will probably be empty because other children aren鈥檛 out enjoying it. Either Sarah or I will take them there, while the other one stays at home to complete tasks around the house or to start preparing supper.

Our dinner will likely be cooked on the grill and it will probably again feature some vegetables from our garden. Our asparagus is starting to thin out, so this might be the last time we have a good handful of those to eat. We鈥檒l wrap them in aluminum foil with a couple ice cubes and a pat of butter and they鈥檒l end up delicious. We鈥檒l probably pair that with some fish that my father caught (as fishing is his primary hobby these days) and gave to us for the freezer. Again, our children will gobble this up.

Tonight, at bedtime, they鈥檒l wear some oversized hand-me-down t-shirts as pajamas and kick back in their beds. They鈥檒l hear several bedtime stories from our collection of gifted books and from library books as well as a chapter from a longer book and by the end of the last story, two of the three of them will be asleep (this is basically a guarantee as of late). The other one is pretty content to read to himself before he drifts off.

I鈥檝e heard from some readers as of late describing my children鈥檚 life as somehow deprived. To me, their childhood seems wonderful. It brings back a lot of memories of some of the best parts of my own childhood.

If we need to spend money, we do so. If we have a really good reason to buy something, we do it. That doesn鈥檛 mean that our day to day lives have to involve a litany of organized activities and name-brand products.

They鈥檙e learning through their everyday lives that you don鈥檛 have to buy stuff or pay for experiences to enjoy life, to eat healthy and balanced meals, to use your imagination, or to build strong friendships. I can鈥檛 think of anything else I鈥檇 rather teach them.