Tis the Season: a NEED or a WANT?
Distinguish Between a Want and NeedIt’s easy to create a list of things we’d all like to have, but it’s important for kids to distinguish true needs. Start a conversation by asking, “If you were on a deserted island, what things would you need to have with you?” Kids might start their list with video games or their favorite music, but you can talk to them about food, water, shelter, family, and even God’s Word to help your kids understand the reality of what things we need and what things we can live without.
Continuing
series on Contentment this holiday season!
Labels: child rearing, Christmas, contentment, holidays, parenting
I need it, I want it...Buy, Buy, Buy!
Every year billions of dollars are spent by advertisers to make us believe that what we have and who we are aren’t enough. That we need something “better”—looks, food, toys, fun. You name it.
I’m as guilty as the rest when it comes to getting caught up in what the world offers. I’m quick to whip out my VISA card and slow to distinguish my needs from my wants.
And it’s not only “things” that draw me—just the other day I took my daughter to get her hair cut and found myself eagerly flipping through the pages of People magazine—catching up on who’s dating whom and who’s wearing what, and lapping up those voyeuristic photos of glamorous stars caught in their sweatpants and ball caps while shopping at the grocery store.
When I take the time to think about it, I realize how silly this tug is. The people we idolize are simply people, after all. The ‘stuff’ we desire is nothing more than man’s attempt to create something beautiful and worthwhile. The successes we strive after are limited in scope and nature.
So why do we get caught up in worshipping the world’s idols? And more important how can we keep our kids from falling into the same trap? First, we must to realize that we are being deceived by the world’s definition of “need”. I think by continually focusing on our living God we can train ourselves and our kids to not live apart from the world, but to serve Him in it. We can train ourselves to distinguish between reality and lies.
How do you handle this in your own family?
Labels: advertising, contentment, family values, media, money, on-line shopping
Do your kids have the “I wannas”?
Check out these books to teach contentment:
Me Too! and Littler Critter: Just So Thankful! by Mercer Mayer
The Berenstain Bears and the Green-Eyed Monster by Stan and Jan Berestain
Verdi by Janell Cannon
The Big Orange Splot by D. Manus Pinkwater
When Jesse Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest
A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams
The Sneeches and Gertrude McFuzz by Dr. Suess
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viost and Ray Cruz
Labels: child rearing, children's books, contentment
