Anyone have tips on how to limit souvenirs?

[Maggie Lizer]

When my 2 year old wanted things last fall, we distracted him, and the "need" to have the thing flitted out of his mind. My DH, however, was always tempted to go back and secretly buy the object of deisre. I think next time, I'll try the same distraction or reasoning with our kid (or, just say not now/no), but give DH a gift card and when he runs out, he runs out & no more spoiling the kid with light-up things and stuffies.

 

[floydfamily4]

OK, I'm being lazy and didn't read all of the previous responses but what I did when my kids were 4 (almost 5) was tell them we would take a picture of anything they wanted and then on our last day they could pick one thing from the pictures and we would get it. Most things are available at multiple locations so we just went to DTD and got their picks on the last day. It worked really well. We also prepared them by walking through gift shops and practicing looking but not getting before our trip. Good luck and be strong!

 

[Chuckers]

OK, I'm being lazy and didn't read all of the previous responses but what I did when my kids were 4 (almost 5) was tell them we would take a picture of anything they wanted and then on our last day they could pick one thing from the pictures and we would get it. Most things are available at multiple locations so we just went to DTD and got their picks on the last day. It worked really well. We also prepared them by walking through gift shops and practicing looking but not getting before our trip. Good luck and be strong!

Have you posted this tip before? Because I posted what you just said about taking pictures stating I had read it somewhere on the boards before. (I would have given you credit if I knew it was you )

 

[Mad Hattered]

Just sayin'

 

[troof]

I had almost 4 and 6 year olds and based on advice somewhere here, I gave them a $50 budget, which turned into a "3-things" limit once I saw the pricing of the things they were interested in. I told them we would wait until the last day to purchase, so they could choose from what they had seen and offered to keep a list. I don't know if you are flying, but I steered them away from expensive things like the castle play set by noting that it couldn't go home with them on the plane. I never, ever took them into a gift shop, but of course many of the rides exit through them. I did pick up a few additional things we could use, such as allowing them to choose a towel and cups. But don't give in on the rules, they will sense and exploit weakness. I was surprised by how well the scheme worked.

 

[ttintagel]

Although that is the way I raised my own children, I no longer think that just pulling rank is the best way to handle things. I agree 100% that parents should set the rules and limits and stick to those.

However, I like the way today's parents are involving their children more and letting things be a learning experience. My children learned "respect your parents or else" and didn't question things.

As I've grown older, and hopefully wiser, I can see that letting kids in on why you have made certain decisions can be a good thing. Setting a pre-determined spending amount and talking to the kids about it is a long way from letting your kids walk all over you.

While I think that's fine when kids are older and their cognitive abilities have had a chance to develop, when they're three years old it's just expecting too much and setting everyone up for a barrel of stress.

 

[Tara8595]

What a wonderful learning opportunity this is. We've faced this dilemma since my son was 15 months old, just pointing at whatever he wanted - usually teen girl jewelry at that point. LOL. He's 5 now, and last month, we had limited time at AK, and I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said "Shop!"

Since he was about 3, I've been getting him a gift card for each trip commensurate in value to the time we are there. I have taught him that you don't have to buy something in every store you visit - he used to walk into a store and say something like "I want to buy 2 things in here." No no no. I realized I really needed to teach him how to shop!

These are the questions he has to answer as he is making his decision...
1. Do you already have it at home? Easy enough to answer, and if the answer is yes, then you can't have the item.

2. Is it a good value or too expensive? This has been more challenging to teach, but we're getting there as he equates the money he has earned through chores, with what he's getting, and compares one item of one price with another. Cheap isn't good if you aren't going to use it, wear it, or play with it. Expensive might be worth it - like that $40 Mickey jacket that he wears every day to school.

3. Do you have enough money? As said - I give him a gift card and he earns money through chores through the year. Even though he's young, I give him chores he is able to do as a 5-year old.

4. Will you play with it, or will it end up at the bottom of the toy bin? This one makes him think - I remind him of the Zurg he just had to have on a former trip which he never plays with. Sometimes I ask him how he will play with it. He knows if he can't really think of anything, he should probably move on.

We've come a long way since those first trips, but I think teaching shopping and the value of money will be worth it in the long run - and Disney gift shops are ideal for those lessons!

 

[danceintherain]

When my 2 year old wanted things last fall, we distracted him, and the "need" to have the thing flitted out of his mind. My DH, however, was always tempted to go back and secretly buy the object of deisre. I think next time, I'll try the same distraction or reasoning with our kid (or, just say not now/no), but give DH a gift card and when he runs out, he runs out & no more spoiling the kid with light-up things and stuffies.

I think that's going to be my problem. DH just LOVES buying things for DS. In the past we've spent very little on souvenirs, but now that DS is old enough to ask, I think DH will have trouble resisting.
I think setting a limit will help him really think about what he's getting for him.

Since DS is only 2, we'll probably let him pick out one big item.
The great thing about 2 year olds is that they're easy to distract. Yeah, we may have a tantrum moment initially, but once we get him away from the temptation, he'll be fine.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

One thing that helps me limit my urge to buy is to think about where I will put it in the luggage and where I will put it at home. Both are limited commodities.

My second afterthought...and this is not in regards to any post here- but two general suggestions: consistency, and following through. People who experience inconsistency will try to find the pattern behind the inconsistency, and it thus amplifies the drive to 'try' (i.e whining/tantrums and gambling addiction are related).

Following through means if you make a promise, threat, etc; you do it. Therefore, it's often best to carefully limit both techniques. Again, inconsistency feeds the beast. If you must change a rule- provide the child with a clear reason why. "Yes, you were late getting home- but you were helping your grandma."

So it may be helpful if everyone comes up with a plan before you go. They don't have to be super hard set rules- like a dollar amount- if you know you you'll have trouble following such a rule- but maybe you make a rule that you won't buy a toy you already have back home. You won't buy any glass. You won't buy any toy that's a choking hazzard. You won't buy an extra suitcase.

 

[M1Thumb]

The first time we went to Disney World, we had our kids save up coins that they earned from chores for about a year (and let them raid our change jar), then went to the bank to use the coin counting deposit machine. We rounded up their sum and give them that amount in cash, with them knowing that that's the total amount that they would have available for souvenirs. Their desire for Duffies and their understanding of their budget limits kept the purchase of junk and throwaways to a bare minimum.

That said, I think they did take advantage of me in Mitsukoshi on our last day after I had consumed a few drinks in rapid succession at Mexico, Norway, and Germany. So my other tip is don't shop under the influence at your favorite store.

 

[AF81]

When we went last year I gave my then 5 year old & nearly 3 year old a daily allowance of $10 per day & that was it. If something was more than $10 then they had to wait until the next day or the day after if needed. They knew the rules & I didn't get the constant I wants that I usually would of.
I will be doing exactly the same this year.

 

[x5x5x5x5x5]

Not sure if this was mentioned but we have "looking" days and a "buying" day. That way DD can shop to her hearts content and not bug me about buying anything until . . . buying day! And then of course she's given a budget.

 

[patsal]

I just said no and kept saying it, I don't really care what they thought they wanted it would just end up in a heap anyway.
Seriously, though I did tell kids before we left getting to go and having experiences was more improtant thatn stuff, I said I would nto be buying them things so don't even ask. Then I let them earn money about three months before any trip and what they earned they could take with them, They did know it was their money to be used at their discretion but when it was gone it was gone.

 

[floydfamily4]

Have you posted this tip before? Because I posted what you just said about taking pictures stating I had read it somewhere on the boards before. (I would have given you credit if I knew it was you )

I would love to say I made it up but 5 years ago we were planning our trip and I was glued to the Dis (much like now ) and I probably read it somewhere It worked so well I cannot help but tell everyone

 

[KittyyKattyy]

Since our family doesn't have a lot of extra money, what we do is that if we see something we like, we tell our Aunt and Uncle and they will pick an item or two from our list. They always go right before my b-day, so often I might get a few more Disney presents. If we bring our own money, then that's a different story

 

[dr&momto2boys]

On this last trip, we let each kid earn 8 quarters per day by doing various good deeds (like being nice to siblings, letting someone go first, or sit by mommy, or whatever would normally cause a fight.) We told them we were keeping track and would let them know at dinner time how many quarters they had earned so far. Of course there were always a couple quarters left to earn by brushing teeth and going to bed quickly.
This worked great for my 8, 6, and 4 year old. My almost 2 year old didn't ask for anything because the others weren't getting anything either. We would browse stores and they would dream about what they would pick on the last day. They each got 13 dollars (started with 1 dollar and earned 2 per day for 6 days.) We could have started earlier or before we left home, but you get the idea. I think $20 is a good amount for a souvenir usually, but they did fine with their $13.