The plan was to take the kids out for supper, but as we were getting ready to head out Keera asked if she could pay for herself. I assured her that she didn’t have to pay for herself, we were going to be paying. She kept insisting, she definitely got her stubbornness from me! So instead of arguing with her, I decided I’d use this as a learning opportunity. It’s the perfect moment to show her that money, isn’t unlimited and you’ve got to work for it. 
My hope was that this lesson would teach her that things cost money, and that if you aren’t careful you can spend everything you’ve got in the blink of an eye. Despite this being a learning experience for her, if she went over I had every intention of covering the difference. I’m her mom after all.. although I didn’t tell her this, because that would defeat the purpose of the lesson.
We had made plans to go to Red Lobster before Keera told me her idea, and I figured what better place for this lesson. Keera likes to order a salad with her meal, and that always costs extra so I knew this would be a reality check for her. Once we got seated I made sure to explain to her how much money she had, and I told her that the prices of everything were on her menu beside each item.
The first question she asked me was if she could have a smoothie, I told her she could since she was planning on paying for herself. I also pointed out that the smoothies were more expensive, and they were not refillable so once she was done she wouldn’t be able to get a refill.
Despite my warnings she proudly ordered herself a smoothie, then went on to decide what she was going to eat. She decided on the popcorn shrimp, and she wanted a salad. I made sure to point out that her salad would cost her an additional 99 cents on top of the cost of the meal. She decided that it was what she wanted, even with the additional cost.
On one hand I felt like I was nagging her with reminders of her money, but I also wanted to make sure she understood that her money had a limit. It’s the little things like these that she takes advantage of when she isn’t paying, she needs to understand that certain things cost extra. That fancy drink costs more, and that it will cost more if you want another.
I made sure to explain all of these things, because when we pay she hasn’t got any concept of the cost of things. Once she had finished ordering, she asked me if she’d have enough money for it all. I’ll admit the mom part of me wanted to tell her to not worry about it, and that I’d cover the difference if she was short.
However this is was meant to be a learning experience, so I held back and didn’t mention it. Clearly I’d cover it if she needed me to but I didn’t tell her that, I told her that in the future she should make sure she has enough money before ordering.
She checked her wallet and noticed that she had twenty dollars, and some change. During her meal she ended up finishing her drink, and she asked me if she could order another one. I reminded her that it would cost her the same price as the first one to get another one, since they don’t do free refills on the smoothies.
Again she counted her money, and decided she was willing to pay for another smoothie and she even ordered herself some ice cream for dessert. Once everyone had finished eating, the waitress asked if the bill was going to be together or separate. I told her that we wanted two separate bills, one with Keera’s meal and one with the rest of the stuff.
The waitress was really nice, and decided to only charge Keera 99 cents for her smoothie refill instead of another 2.29$ for the second smoothie. I probably should have mentioned it at the beginning of the meal, but it slipped my mind until we got our bills. I told Keera that on top of her bill, she was expected to give a tip.
She didn’t have a clue what a tip was, and it shocked her that on top of her meal she’d have to give more money. After I explained that a tip is given to a waitress, or waiter for their service I could tell she was starting to get anxious. It’s hard to watch your kid stress over money, especially when you know they shouldn’t have too.
This experience was really eye-opening for her, she’s finally starting to understand that everything adds up. The twenty dollars and change she had, was from tooth fairy money over the last couple of years. Keera’s total bill came out to 13.05$, and she decided to give the waitress fifteen dollars of her money.
I consider this a lesson learned, because as we were leaving the restaurant Keera asked if she could do some extra chores for money. She’s excited that she’s got seven dollars leftover, and she’s already decided where she wants to spend it ha ha. Baby steps forward, I’ll count this as a parent win. 🙂