Whether 'tis nobler to let my son make his own from bits of construction paper and glue (he's up to 6 now), or cave in and let him buy some with his allowance money. That is my dilema.
Aidan has gotten so desperate for a Bakugan that he's begun making his own out of bits of construction paper-and very proud of himself too. What's worse, now Davin is making them too. On the one hand I'm totally proud of the imagination, creativity, and talent required to make one's own ball morphing creature. And on the other hand, I just think: "how sad, those poor boys whose mom won't let them spend their hard earned money on whatever they want, they have to go and make their own toys."
I'm torn, Aidan is at the upper age of these things, and I'm not sure that I want him to invest his money in a toy that he may outgrow by next year. I loathe my children outgrowing their toys in under a year-it has happened before, and I feel bad about craigslist-ing and DI-ing perfectly good toys that didn't get some magical quota of playtime in before my children decided to be done with them (Original Imaginext, GeoTrax-LOTS, a Pirate play ship, Shake-n-Go racetrack and cars, Planet Heroes, etc.) But at the same time, all of his friend have these magnetic ball morphing monster things complete with metal playing cards that allow for the ball to morph into a thing.
All I want is to instill in my children an understanding of worth and value: will their purchases last, is it worth the time and effort it took to save their allowances for something special? I just want them to appreciate what they have, and not toss something aside just because some fad has passed.
But the worst/best part of the whole thing is that Aidan hasn't been begging for these Bakugan toys, he's mentioned them here and there, and I've said: "um, probably not". So he's just gone ahead, without complaint or anything, and made his own. But I guess that says something, doesn't it? That he's quite content to make his own, and not beg me for one. So I guess we'll just wait and see, if he's still asking for them by Christmas, than maybe we'll start a collection, and if not, well, then we've dodged another fad bullet.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
To Bakugan or not to Bakugan, that is the question.
Posted by Lynn at 4:11 PM
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4 comments:
We've Pokemoned and Bakuganed and I've been surprised how much use they've gotten. Even if they outgrow them in a year, he'll probably play with them 3 years worth. Plus, I do think it is good for them to spend their allowance on silliness every once in awhile, so they do learn what it is like to regret a bad purchase. But, on this one, I think it will probably be worth it to him.
Ah, parenting dilema. You are a brave woman for venturing into any world where a ball morphs into anything - allowance money or not.
Just tell me one thing: how long do I have before I have to figure out what a Bakuganed is (and how to pronounce it)? Because, frankly, I have no idea what this thing is or why it would be fun. Of course, my kids spent the evening fighting over a used box, so clearly I have no idea about fun.
One of the best ways to learn worth is to buy something with carefully saved money and feel disappointed. If he loves them, he'll feel proud of the fact that he saved and bought them himself. If he doesn't use them, he'll be more careful about what he spends his money on next time. The earlier they learn these lessons, the wiser they are with money. (Plus... you'll win major points with him if you let him buy them - just think of the smile that will spread across his face!)
Super creative little boy! Forester and Ronan have several, and love them--Ilana and Aspen even play with them. Plus, you can think of it this way: if he "tests the waters," so to speak, with his own money now, then come Christmas you aren't taking the risk with your own or Grandparents' money--you'll know whether that's a good gift/stocking stuffer or not. :)
I love you!
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