I want that! I want that!

Ah, music to a mother’s ears because most of us have heard this song before. It is something new to us and we are finding creative ways to play along to this tune. I thought I would share them with you. We have given our child a small wallet to put “his money” in when we go shopping. We give him fifty cents each time he takes the scoop and fills the dog’s food dish. Then we place the money in a jar on our counter till such a shopping trip. Then the money is converted to dollars, by the trusty coin machine at the local grocery, and put into his wallet for use at the store. This gives him some control on his money and limits the constant nagging for items. We explain to him that he has a certain amount to spend, if he would like, or he could save it to put towards a larger item in the future. This may not always stop the “I want song” completely but it allows us to teach a good lesson while we are out shopping. Another tactic we use is to avoid the certain areas of the store that we know will encourage this behavior. We all know these aisles all too well. The last thing we do is to inform him that if one toy comes home, one must be donated. This helps to lessen the accumulation of toys around the house. We have not always been good about this last one, but are now reinforcing this term. We feel that we are being swallowed by the plastic toy tornado that has hit our living space. Happy shopping readers, and don’t be discouraged from taking the little one’s along.