Wants vs. Needs

Wants vs. Needs and the 6 year old mind

So last night my son brought home a school book order form. You remember, they had books and games and stickers. My favorite was Mad-Libs. I loved them.
Anyway, we went through the list and picked out about 13 books totaling $53.90. My son’s demeanor was eluding that these books were just part of life and he was entitled to them. (We have ordered from them many times before.) So I decided to take the opportunity to teach him the difference between a NEED and a WANT.

We had a TWO hour discussion about needs and wants. Now I admit this is a very complicated topic for a 6 year old mind… sometimes it’s a very complicated topic for a 34 year old mind, but I felt it is better to start now, so the concept isn’t foreign later.
He kept stating that the books were a need. I explained 10 different ways to demonstrate they were a want. He started to cry because of frustrated; he couldn’t figure out how to make books fit into the need category. [Litmus test: Can I live without it? If yes, then it’s a want.] I eventually brought out his Big Ben piggy bank and emptied it on the kitchen table. I explained that this was all the money he had in the world. Some of which he could use for needs and some for wants. I explained that needs were things like a house, food, clothes and water and wants were legos and books. So I asked him to separate his money into two piles. One to pay for needs and one for wants – like the books. He kept all the pennies (37 of them) and gave me all the silver coins (around $4) He realized that he gave me most of the money. This was a good sign, but 37 cents isn’t enough to buy a book – he doesn’t understand the power of a dollar. (That’ll be our discussion tonight.) So I gave him back his four dollars and we talked about people in the Gulf Coast who had lost everything. He chimed in and said, but if they had money they could buy a new house and food and clothes. I agreed (my academic/economic mind wanted to delve in further, but I decided that’d have to wait a few years)
I asked him to separate his money into two piles again. Donate to Hurricane victims and to keep and spend on books and legos; without a thought he shoved all his money at me and said give it to Mississippi. Good for him, I thought. We practiced some more on examples of needs and wants, and then I dropped the subject. After he went to bed, I put the money back inside Big Ben and Pulled out $5.00. I wrote his name on it and put it back in my wallet.
This morning when I dropped him off at school, I asked him if the books were a need or want. He quickly answered, “a want,” then he said, “I love you” and walked away. I waited for him to disappear into the cafeteria and quietly went inside and handed the teacher the completed book order form and a check for $53.90. I asked her not to tell him about the order. I still have that value-of-a-dollar lesson to work on. On my way out, I put that $5.00 bill with his name on in the jar of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarter his colleague had so innocently and eagerly collected.