Christmas spendings? - Page 2

AccyLass · 20-11-2007, 12:52

Spend only what you can afford at Xmas! It's not celebrating your child's birthday. It's more celebrating festivity and family time, all of which don't have to incur extensive credit card charges. If you haven't got a lot, don't spend a lot. Concentrate on what's important. Time together

cashman · 20-11-2007, 14:34

agree with west ender, it never occured to me "how much" to spend on each child, peer pressure has much to answer for.to me its too easy to get in debt these days due to it. get what you can afford, without the debt, plenty of love n happyness n any child will have a great xmas.

magpie · 20-11-2007, 21:35

The best gift you can give a child is your time....

jackyalex · 20-11-2007, 22:38

the thing is you can spend £100 on just 5 toys so when im spending £150/200 on each child and you think thats too much!! well its not when it only buys you a a main present and a few smaller presents, my kids dont have a huge pile of toys the money doesnt actually go that far

BERNADETTE · 20-11-2007, 23:04

My daughter is spending £150 each on her three which is a lot in my eyes. They also get loads of stuff off extended family, all in all I think kids today get far to much. It is time we got back to good old traditional values IMO.

West Ender · 21-11-2007, 12:58

Too many people think they must spend serious money on children at Christmas or they will appear mean and unloving. Too many children, and their parents, feel they have to keep up with the Joneses with the latest "must have" items. What's good about a parent spending a small fortune, only to spend the rest of the following year worrying about paying off the credit card bill? It's not what Christmas, really, should be about.

emamum · 21-11-2007, 13:04

children are told that if they are good santa will fetch them what they want... this means that parents will over spend to make sure their children are not disapointed... i save all year and buy presents in the new year and summer sales to make sure my lad gets everything he asks for... sometimes if i get something he doesnt know he wants yet.. i mention it a few times, it usually ends up on the list...

West Ender · 21-11-2007, 13:40

My granddaughter wants a wii and she's going to get one - with her birthday and Christmas money in the new year. She's asked relations for money and vouchers, in lieu of presents, and saved her birthday money from October (she was 8) so she can buy one. No particular reward for being good, she's expected to be good no matter what, and she's never disappointed because she doesn't expect to get everything she'd like.

BERNADETTE · 21-11-2007, 14:16

Think it has gone to far in the direction of kids getting everything they want. They should be able to behave all the time otherwise you would spend all year buying treats as bribes.

West Ender · 21-11-2007, 14:55

Too true, Bernadette. The only "bribe" I ever used with my kids was the threat, if there was an incidence of bad behaviour near Christmas, that they would get absolutely nothing if it happened again.

BERNADETTE · 21-11-2007, 15:00

That was the way I was thinking rather than you can have everything you want if you are good, You will lose a present if you are bad.

West Ender · 21-11-2007, 15:35

I suppose you and I would be accused of being "negative" by today's forward thinkers. You haven't to punish bad behaviour, you have to use "positive reinforcement". I accept it works quite well when training dogs but kids just won't perform well for a biscuit.

emamum · 21-11-2007, 15:40

positive reinforcment means rewarding the child with a treat,or a smile and attention when they are good and ignoring the bad behaviour.. this works very well with attention seeking behaviour...

BERNADETTE · 21-11-2007, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by West Ender

I suppose you and I would be accused of being "negative" by today's forward thinkers. You haven't to punish bad behaviour, you have to use "positive reinforcement". I accept it works quite well when training dogs but kids just won't perform well for a biscuit.

A biscuit they want a computer game if they are good these days

Stanleymad · 21-11-2007, 16:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by emamum23

positive reinforcment means rewarding the child with a treat,or a smile and attention when they are good and ignoring the bad behaviour.. this works very well with attention seeking behaviour...

Thats my eldest on permanent ignore then, at that 'orrible age where the completely deaf ears kick in & they know it all more than u stage, that absolutely drains the patience of a saint - even threats of having nowt [& its not empty threats either]

Someone just wants to be on santa's naughty list of having nowt