How much money do your kids take?

[mamacatnv]

ITA!!! My kids both have $25 GCs they received for their birthdays and that's it. I have never indulged my kids with alot of "stuff", thus they don't expect it, don't ask for it, and don't feel the least bit deprived. I get a very self satisfied feeling when a see a little "angel" wearing mickey ears, a princess tshirt, a disney lanyard loaded with pins, a balloon tied to the stroller, eating a Mickey bar SCREAMING for yet another overpriced disposable trinket.

Personally, IMHO a WDW vacation is an indulgence. One that I am going to enjoy every minute of.

I am a very happy parent when I see my darlings wearing Mickey Ears, a Princess/Mickey pullover with a lanyard full of pins all the while sitting quietly and politely, enjoying a Mickey Bar and watching the parade with the look of wonder and awe on their faces.

I have seen lots of screaming beasts who have no trinkets and well behaved children with lots of trinkets. The stuff does not make the child.

What a parent decides to give kids for spending money is purely a personal decision based on their family structure. I think the OP was looking for averages to help in that decision, not peoples personal views on whether or not the amount of spending money determines the character of the children involved.

IMHO

 

[disneyjunkie]

Personally, IMHO a WDW vacation is an indulgence. One that I am going to enjoy every minute of.

I am a very happy parent when I see my darlings wearing Mickey Ears, a Princess/Mickey pullover with a lanyard full of pins all the while sitting quietly and politely, enjoying a Mickey Bar and watching the parade with the look of wonder and awe on their faces.

I have seen lots of screaming beasts who have no trinkets and well behaved children with lots of trinkets. The stuff does not make the child.

What a parent decides to give kids for spending money is purely a personal decision based on their family structure. I think the OP was looking for averages to help in that decision, not peoples personal views on whether or not the amount of spending money determines the character of the children involved.

IMHO

ITA

I try to teach my son about saving and making smart purchases all year long. If he's spent the time between trips saving his money, why shouldn't he enjoy spending it while on vacation?


My son tends to have $150.00+ each trip. We divide the total amount by the number of days we'll be there and that's how much he takes with him each day.

He's free to spend it as he pleases. Most of it goes towards snacks (fudge, funnel cakes..) and pins.

During our next trip he's planning to purchase the deluxe magic kit from the magic shop in DTD.

 

[susykt4]

My kids are 6 & 3 and our last trip (shortly after Xmas) my parents gave each child 50 Disney Dollars. We don't do pins or buy shirts. DD got a box of My Little Pony parts, 3 beanies and some candy. DS got lots of cars and trucks and some candy. Each kid even had a few dollars left over. For my little kids 50 bucks was plenty of money.

 

[pklein09]

We've gone twice with our kids where they had their own money. The first trip, each had about $100 and I controlled the purse strings, meaning I kept their $$$ and when they spent it, I charged it to the room paid at the end of the trip. I did keep tabs on what was spent, but I didn't count every penny.

For the second trip, they had about $75 each. I carried their money with me in separate envelopes. When someone wanted to buy something, I took out their envelope and they paid the cashier (which they loved!). DD8 spent almost everything the first day on the charm necklaces and bracelets. I questioned her and she said that's what she really wanted. Okay by me, it was her money. On the very last day, with no money left, she saw a very cute bikini and grass skirt combo at POC gift shop. She came over and said she wanted it. I asked if she had any $$$ left. She stopped, thought about it, and said "Well, maybe next year." She put it back. No whining, no complaining, no nothing. YEAH!!!

Oh, my kids don't get an allowance. They get their $$$ through birthdays and Christmas. Because we're headed on the cruise, I decided to let them earn Disney $$$ by doing extra stuff around the house. They don't get paid to make their beds, clean up, put clothes away, etc. That's expected for living in the house. They got $$$ for yard clean-up (their ages are 5 1/2 to 10) and my oldest is getting bribed to wear her eye patch for lazy eye. This was the doctor's suggestion and I wanted to smack him for it!

 

[disneychipmunk]

Hi My Name Is Kayle And I Love Cheese!


And My Husband's Name Is Bob!

Uunnkk!!!!

 

[christinadei]

I let DS save his birthday and christmas money. His last 2 trips (4 and 5 years old) he had about $20. I paid for mickey ears, an autograph book, etc. and he bought whatever else he wanted. both times we ended up in a gift shop, trying to hurry and spend the money at the end of the trip so we coudl go home He doesn't really ask for a lot, but we also don't spend a lot of time in shops. I also always do him a gift basket/bag with disney items, glow sticks, the night time buzz twirly things, some fruit snacks, coloring book, crayons, etc. So that cuts down on the wants too. I think I'll let him bring about $50 this year and see what happens. I imagine he'll come back with most of it though.

 

[mikamah]

I am taking my son on his first trip to wdw in december and he will be turning 5 while we are there. I have been planning our budget and thought I would spend about $200 on him. I figure 100 for souvenirs that he chooses and surprise him with a few birthday gifts, balloons, cake etc. I have always had a tendency towards shopaholicism, but have not been using credit cards anymore and will not go into debt for this vacation. I've been saving and planning. He is learning about saving as we are cutting back on indulgences throughout the year, and planning on having a wonderful, magical wdw vacation.
I also thought it would be fun to take him to Mickeys Mart and have him choose souvenirs for his cousins who aren't coming with us.

 

[kcrew]

Personally, IMHO a WDW vacation is an indulgence. One that I am going to enjoy every minute of.

I am a very happy parent when I see my darlings wearing Mickey Ears, a Princess/Mickey pullover with a lanyard full of pins all the while sitting quietly and politely, enjoying a Mickey Bar and watching the parade with the look of wonder and awe on their faces.

I have seen lots of screaming beasts who have no trinkets and well behaved children with lots of trinkets. The stuff does not make the child.

What a parent decides to give kids for spending money is purely a personal decision based on their family structure. I think the OP was looking for averages to help in that decision, not peoples personal views on whether or not the amount of spending money determines the character of the children involved.

IMHO

Okay, if the scenerio I described does not depict your child why are you being defensive, and why did you find it necessary to launch a personal attack? My point was two fold: a) I was concurring with the poster that I quoted that not everyone spends alot of extra money on "trinkets", and b) that lack of "trinkets" doesn't hamper my children's experience, nor does it necessarily make a magical experience for a child that receives scads of these "trinkets". I decided to post MY, repeat MY experience and observations for the OP to balance other posts indicating a higher level of spending. She could certainly get by on less than $100 or spend $1000+++ depending on her family's spending style.

Oh, and BTW when you quote someone and attack their post, ending your post with "IMHO" really doesn't make it any less offensive.

 

[DaisyD]

DD might take $20 of her own money but that is about it. I buy her whatever souveniers she wants. She just gets a kick out of spending her "own" money so she brings some. There is no way she could afford to buy all the souveniers I get her!

 

[DaisyD]

I don't consider any of our vacations a gift to our kids anymore then they are a gift to me of DH. They are family vacations. Fortunately for my kids, they have a mom that loves to shop and they have become the lucky receipents!

 

[the Fidge]

Here's my 2 cents worth: If my son knows we are going, he earns Disney Dollars! Rewards for grades or a job well done iin disney dollars. Holidays also contain a few disney dolars in stocking. A dollar here or there add up and when he goes he then has about $50 dollars. I alllow him to get one gift the frist day, then at the end he can purchase anything he wants with his money and if he goes over by a wee bit I cover gladly!

No longer do I suggest what he should get, some of the things he picks are just odd, but heck they are his memories and not mine! It is a great incentive the disney dollars and he can't go to the video game store and use em there !

Have fun and whatever you can give comfortably is the best guide! Too much can be voerwhelming and a day filled in gift sotres isn't a fun thing to me!

Have fun!