Would you ask your kids to help pay for a vacation?

[SplashMtnCrew]

You should give him some of his money as spending cash and deposit the rest into a savings account, CD or something of that nature. We, as others have mentioned, have a Disney jar in the kitchen. It is really a "Manners Jar" every time you catch someone not using their manners they have to put 5 cents into the jar...then we cash in the coins the last day before our trip. It teaches manners and is fun to watch fill up

Our DS has saved over 100 dollars in cash for our trip next week, but he has also deposited twice that into his savings account in the last six months. There is NO WAY that the DH and I would let him take that kind of money to Disney, nor would we allow him to give it to us to help pay for our vacation. Teaching him to save for what he wants and making wise financial decisions is our goal. As long as we are the parents and in charge of the family we take on the financial obligations on it's behalf, not the children.

 

[DevilDuckie]

I have a similar story. Our last WDW vacation was when DS was 5. As soon as we left, I'm talking before we even got out of the state, he was telling me how much he loved it and asking when we could go back.

I told him that it takes a lot of money to go to WDW, so we'd have to try to save as much as we could.

As soon as we got home, DS asked me where he could put some of his loose change so that he could start saving for WDW. I broke out this HUGE tupperware container, and we decorated it with stickers and labeled it "This is for DS's trip to Walt Disney World!"

Ever since then, he's put in all his Bday money, all his Christmas money, all his tooth fairy money, all the money people have given him for being so cute, loose change, whatever, into this container. At last count, he had close to $400.

Of course, we're going back in about a month from now, and I have a problem.

Since he's been saving all this time for the purpose of going to WDW, I don't want to just not use his money, since he's been working hard to save that money for a while now. I don't think it would teach him a very good lesson about money if he's saved all this time, and then it gets handed to him for free.

But I don't want to use his money, I don't want to take it.

What should I do with it? Should I cash in all that loose change and just let him use it as his own spending money? But $400 is a lot to give to a young kid, and I don't think he should be able to spend that much cash. And it's not like I can give him a hundred bucks of it, because he knows how much he has.

Any (non snarky) suggestions?

First of all, ignore anyone who tells you teaching your child life skills is "pitiful".

As for your son, I have seen several good ideas- a camera, buying keepsakes, etc. I know my son always wants to spend his money at the Lego store in DTD. I think I would be inclined to let him spend the amount you deem reasonable on enhancing his trip. Maybe even let him "take the family" to a character meal. For the rest of it, tell him he did so well saving that he has some left over for the next thing! Not only does he get Disney, he still has money for a special non-Disney purchase. Reinforce how very responsible this was.

Let him have a grand time at Disney and be proud of his saving ability. You're doing a great job!

 

[kimsuenew]

First of all, ignore anyone who tells you teaching your child life skills is "pitiful".
As for your son, I have seen several good ideas- a camera, buying keepsakes, etc. I know my son always wants to spend his money at the Lego store in DTD. I think I would be inclined to let him spend the amount you deem reasonable on enhancing his trip. Maybe even let him "take the family" to a character meal. For the rest of it, tell him he did so well saving that he has some left over for the next thing! Not only does he get Disney, he still has money for a special non-Disney purchase. Reinforce how very responsible this was.

Let him have a grand time at Disney and be proud of his saving ability. You're doing a great job!

First of all I did NOT say teaching life skills is pitiful, in fact if you read my post you will see it says "teaching a child about money is wonderful, teaching a child to save is perfect"... what I said was pitiful is that apparently this 5 year old (maybe 6 by now) child has not gotten presents... simply money to insert in a jar. That is sad IMO. Yes, children need to be taught about savings and such, but they also need to be children! And every child I have ever met, known, had, been related to, and so on... enjoy receiving a present to open and enjoy!

 

[disneyjunkie]

First of all I did NOT say teaching life skills is pitiful, in fact if you read my post you will see it says "teaching a child about money is wonderful, teaching a child to save is perfect"... what I said was pitiful is that apparently this 5 year old (maybe 6 by now) child has not gotten presents... simply money to insert in a jar. That is sad IMO. Yes, children need to be taught about savings and such, but they also need to be children! And every child I have ever met, known, had, been related to, and so on... enjoy receiving a present to open and enjoy!

Who said the kid didn't receive any gifts??

Every kid I know receives both presents and money for birthdays and holidays.

It sounds like the kid saved the money and played with the toys.

That said, I agree that kids should not have to help fund the family vacation.

Thats_for_Shore, how about allowing him to use his money to cover the fun stuff?

Pirate cruise
arcades
Epcot passport
autograph book
pins

 

[mumom95]

First of all I did NOT say teaching life skills is pitiful, in fact if you read my post you will see it says "teaching a child about money is wonderful, teaching a child to save is perfect"... what I said was pitiful is that apparently this 5 year old (maybe 6 by now) child has not gotten presents... simply money to insert in a jar. That is sad IMO. Yes, children need to be taught about savings and such, but they also need to be children! And every child I have ever met, known, had, been related to, and so on... enjoy receiving a present to open and enjoy!

Where did she say the child hadn't gotten any presents? My kids have always gotten both money and gifts for their birthday. And I doubt Santa just brought him money. I don't know the situation, but if I had to guess, I would say it was something more like Santa brought presents and grandma and grandpa gave money.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

First of all I did NOT say teaching life skills is pitiful, in fact if you read my post you will see it says "teaching a child about money is wonderful, teaching a child to save is perfect"... what I said was pitiful is that apparently this 5 year old (maybe 6 by now) child has not gotten presents... simply money to insert in a jar. That is sad IMO. Yes, children need to be taught about savings and such, but they also need to be children! And every child I have ever met, known, had, been related to, and so on... enjoy receiving a present to open and enjoy!

Wow...

First of all, let me say that the PITIFUL part is that you obviously have no idea what you're talking about.

Secondly, let me ask you, do you really think I give my kid $50 for Christmas and call it a day? Do you really think I substituted gift giving for money just so he would put it in his Disney Fund? How crazy are you that you think that's even a possibility?

Do you honestly think that my child has no toys to play with?

And lastly, DID YOU NOT EVEN READ MY POST??!?!?!?!?!?

The problem that I asked for advice for was because I DON'T WANT TO USE HIS MONEY AT ALL, but feel obligated to do something with it since his whole purpose of saving was for this trip.

I also would like to thank everyone else for sticking up for me, and giving me advice and suggestions!! I especially like the camera idea, and I'll make sure he has an adequate amount of money of his own in his pocket to buy souvenirs and things. I also like the idea of him paying for a character breakfast (I have one planned for our first morning at Tusker House). Any more suggestions? Keep them rolling in!

 

[imsorry]

Thats for Sure,

Kudos to your DS for having the dedication and resolve to save like that - there's kid who knows what he wants! You should be very proud!

I would do something similar to what the previous poster suggested - give him $100ish to spend as he pleases and then come up with $300 of additional expenses he can think he is paying for - maybe his park ticket, a couple special meals, souvieners for grandparents, etc - and then deposit the $300 into a savings account that you open for him (without his knowledge).

Since he is still so young, it would be really nice if you would write him a letter (to be opened when he is older and gets control of the savings account) about how excited he was to save for the trip and how much fun he had, etc.

Have a great trip!!!

I think this is the best idea I have seen. I love the idea of the letter!!

 

[LaraK]

Wow...

First of all, let me say that the PITIFUL part is that you obviously have no idea what you're talking about.

Secondly, let me ask you, do you really think I give my kid $50 for Christmas and call it a day? Do you really think I substituted gift giving for money just so he would put it in his Disney Fund? How crazy are you that you think that's even a possibility?

Do you honestly think that my child has no toys to play with?

And lastly, DID YOU NOT EVEN READ MY POST??!?!?!?!?!?

The problem that I asked for advice for was because I DON'T WANT TO USE HIS MONEY AT ALL, but feel obligated to do something with it since his whole purpose of saving was for this trip.

I also would like to thank everyone else for sticking up for me, and giving me advice and suggestions!! I especially like the camera idea, and I'll make sure he has an adequate amount of money of his own in his pocket to buy souvenirs and things. I also like the idea of him paying for a character breakfast (I have one planned for our first morning at Tusker House). Any more suggestions? Keep them rolling in!

I think what you're doing is great. I firmly believe that handing kids everything on a plate leads to spoiled kids who don't understand the value of a dollar and expect life to be easy (when we all know it isn't).

Another option is something you can control at home....have him take a certain amount of his money out of the jar and go to the mall...he can exchange them for Disney Dollars....then you can have a conversation about his savings and what that means etc... Disney is always so frantic you may not get your teaching moment.

I'd also say that it would be nice for him to pick up a few things for others while he's there...not a lot, but maybe a postcard to those people who gave him the money in the first place. He can say that he's enjoying their gift in Disney...that will make them feel good too.

 

[Mkrop]

Thats for Shore

I think it is so cute that your DS has saved all this. DS10 gets so much stuff as well as $$$ that he too probably has that muched saved as well, for bdays, tooth fairy etc, that he uses for little things.

Here are some suggestions:

Talk to him and find out what he thinks he wants to buy and make sure he has that cash on hand.

Talk to him about something he always wanted to do there like a character meal or minigolf etc and something that may or not have been in the original plans. I bet he would be so proud to pay for a meal or a round of minigolf. I know DS10 would.

Give him enough for souveniours and have him continue to save for the next time you go or some other fun thing he would like to do in the future.

I think this is a wonderful lesson, I know some days DS10 still doesnt fully appreciate how much things cost, it is an ongoing edcuation here.

GL.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

Thanks guys!

 

[Lintasare]

I have a similar story. Our last WDW vacation was when DS was 5. As soon as we left, I'm talking before we even got out of the state, he was telling me how much he loved it and asking when we could go back.

I told him that it takes a lot of money to go to WDW, so we'd have to try to save as much as we could.

As soon as we got home, DS asked me where he could put some of his loose change so that he could start saving for WDW. I broke out this HUGE tupperware container, and we decorated it with stickers and labeled it "This is for DS's trip to Walt Disney World!"

Ever since then, he's put in all his Bday money, all his Christmas money, all his tooth fairy money, all the money people have given him for being so cute, loose change, whatever, into this container. At last count, he had close to $400.

Of course, we're going back in about a month from now, and I have a problem.

Since he's been saving all this time for the purpose of going to WDW, I don't want to just not use his money, since he's been working hard to save that money for a while now. I don't think it would teach him a very good lesson about money if he's saved all this time, and then it gets handed to him for free.

But I don't want to use his money, I don't want to take it.

What should I do with it? Should I cash in all that loose change and just let him use it as his own spending money? But $400 is a lot to give to a young kid, and I don't think he should be able to spend that much cash. And it's not like I can give him a hundred bucks of it, because he knows how much he has.

Any (non snarky) suggestions?

First off...kudos to your kiddo for being disciplined enough to save up that kind of money. I can't even do that for my trip and I am an adult. I like what Lara said about Disney Dollars. They are another great way to save and make great souvenirs themselves. Plus they can teach him money management in that it gives him the freedom to decide which souvenirs he actually wants.

Now this is not to say to take all the money with you. I think somwhere around $100-$150 would be sufficient and the rest you can put into a savings account for a future trip. That way he can see that such discipline pays off not once but many times.

 

[nataliela]

When I was younger, My family decided that we wanted a huge christmas tree. Each month everyone put $3 in the jar. When christmas came around it felt great to know that I help paid for that tree.

I suggest, like most others, to give him some money for the trip to buy toys(since he doesn't have any-j/k) and other souvenirs. Then put the rest in a savings account. He will appreciate that a whole lot more later on in life, but will still learn the lesson of saving today.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

When I was younger, My family decided that we wanted a huge christmas tree. Each month everyone put $3 in the jar. When christmas came around it felt great to know that I help paid for that tree.

I suggest, like most others, to give him some money for the trip to buy toys(since he doesn't have any-j/k) and other souvenirs. Then put the rest in a savings account. He will appreciate that a whole lot more later on in life, but will still learn the lesson of saving today.

Exactly!! That's how I want my son to feel. We're in the most magical place on earth and HE made it happen!!

And @ not having any toys!!

 

[mrsbert]

Thats_for_Shore

I'm on the same track as you. I have a big extended family. When my kids have b-days, my DF comes in from out of state and his brothers and sisters use this time to visit him. I can easily have 50-60 people at a b-day party counting friends too. One year, on top of toys my DS received, he also received $200 cash! That's one birthday! I was embarassed.

One of my DS's proudest moments was when said extended family went out to eat and he helped paying the bill. (He thought he covered it all with the $10 he gave the waiteress). He walked straight up to her and gave it to her. I had no idea what he was doing at the time. It was an "Awe" moment. He still talks about that night often and wants to use his money to help us out. I'm sure your DS would be just as proud if he "helped" your family out at Disney. Like other posters said, it could be what he thinks to be the entire bill from a CS meal or even a ride photo.

 

[Vacation Lover]

I have a similar story. Our last WDW vacation was when DS was 5. As soon as we left, I'm talking before we even got out of the state, he was telling me how much he loved it and asking when we could go back.

I told him that it takes a lot of money to go to WDW, so we'd have to try to save as much as we could.

As soon as we got home, DS asked me where he could put some of his loose change so that he could start saving for WDW. I broke out this HUGE tupperware container, and we decorated it with stickers and labeled it "This is for DS's trip to Walt Disney World!"

Ever since then, he's put in all his Bday money, all his Christmas money, all his tooth fairy money, all the money people have given him for being so cute, loose change, whatever, into this container. At last count, he had close to $400.

Of course, we're going back in about a month from now, and I have a problem.

Since he's been saving all this time for the purpose of going to WDW, I don't want to just not use his money, since he's been working hard to save that money for a while now. I don't think it would teach him a very good lesson about money if he's saved all this time, and then it gets handed to him for free.

But I don't want to use his money, I don't want to take it.

What should I do with it? Should I cash in all that loose change and just let him use it as his own spending money? But $400 is a lot to give to a young kid, and I don't think he should be able to spend that much cash. And it's not like I can give him a hundred bucks of it, because he knows how much he has.

Any (non snarky) suggestions?

Here's what I would do:
Take $50 out for him to use in any way he wants--souvenirs, special snacks, whatever.

Take another $50 or so to use toward something that you wouldn't normally pay for--something a little extravagant that he would enjoy.

Then put the rest into savings. But not just a regular savings account. I'd put it into something more long term that will make him some money--CDs, savings bonds, etc. You can return to him when he's 16 and saving for a car, or 18 and going off to college or 21 and planning a Disney trip with his friends.

Oh! Here's another idea that just popped into my head--put the money into Disney Stock! Then give it back to him when he's an adult.

 

[Thats_for_Shore]

Here's what I would do:
Oh! Here's another idea that just popped into my head--put the money into Disney Stock! Then give it back to him when he's an adult.

That's a very original idea!!

 

[DevilDuckie]

Talk to him about something he always wanted to do there like a character meal or minigolf etc and something that may or not have been in the original plans. I bet he would be so proud to pay for a meal or a round of minigolf. I know DS10 would.

That's what I was thinking! I once won a raffle prize that I used to take the family to dinner. I think I was about 8 and it was a HUGE thrill for me to pay for something that was a rare treat at that point in time. I think most kids would be excited to do that.

 

[momof3girls6712]

I do not see any problem with children helping pay for a vacation. My children always recieve gifts and money at holiday and their birthdays. They have savings accounts that we deposit money into and then they choose to use their money as they see fit. My girls are 12, 7, and 6 and they fully understand the cost of vacations and how long it takes to save for costly items. I believe children need to understand this even earlier in today's society. Have you seen the information on the number of college students in serious debt? They get to college and are offered "college credit cards", loans, and such and have no clue so they spend until they hit spending limits. I for one and glad my children understand that we have to save to get things in life. Once they get money we let them choose to spend their money any way they see fit (that is not against family rules). All of my children are currently saving for Disney. They will purchase their own souvenirs and special snacks. Once they run out of money then well they are done buying. We will be leaving surpises from tink on their beds nightly, but have no intentions of buying souvenirs or special snacks for them. We have done this on every family vacation we have ever taken. The kids love the feeling of paying with their money. It makes them feel grown up. I can also say there is nobody cheaper than a kid with money. My girls will pass things in the park all day saying "nope thats to much, I can do better". It makes me proud to know they understand money and value.

I am hoping the OP reports back I would like to know how it turned out and Thatsforsure I would love to know what you decide and how it works.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

OP here - read all the posts and want to thank everyone for responding!

Apologies for the delay in responding - 4 out of the 5 of us have been down with a stomach bug - blech.

We have not talked to the kids yet about this trip because there was an unexpected change of responsibility by the higher ups in DH's office so he is not sure that the trip is still approved.

As of yesterday the airfare was still cheap (less than $150 RT per person after all taxes/fees) and I found a weekly rate on a rental car for $154 (thanks to the Budget Board). Of course if DH's airfare and the week at the hotel aren't picked up from his job then all that is a moot point.

We did plan to give the girls the option of spending some of their money towards the trip if we are able to go. If they don't want to then that is fine - we are going for sure in May with their Godmother (DH can't make that trip). I have my ebay auctions up and running to fund both trips so if the one with DH is cancelled then we will have some extra $$ for the one in May or we could take a day trip to NYC, DC or to Philly from here (no kids money needed for those).

I will update as soon as we know one way or the other!


Kelley

 

[twooley2]

WE recently started our 12 and 13 year old on an allowance for doing some simple chores each day and told them they would get 20.00 per month. I know not a lot we wantto see how it works out. although if the chores on the list arent done on the day assigned they loose .25 cents for each item not completed. Boy has this been encouraging for them. My younger 12 year old has decided well if I save till Disney Ill have such and such more to spend. Although she wanted a loan till payday just today. We said we weren't the bank LOL Not ready to teach them the lesson or cruel enough to bring the horrors in interest to light quite yet LOL