How to eradicate the thirst for consumption in a child

A tsunami of advertisements is raining from the Internet, TV and other media channels. Now children are forced to play video games, devices, and fashionable clothes from an early age. Advertising carries the message: material spending is necessary to increase self-esteem and enjoy and fulfillment in life. And children grow up with the feeling that parents are obliged to buy them whatever they want. This is how the thirst for consumption develops in children.

The blame for the excessive thirst for consumption lies with the parents, who are sometimes so mentally exhausted that they do not have the strength to say “no” to a child who is hysterical near a shelf with toys.

But it is never too early and almost never too late to teach a child that intangible values are more important in life. Here are six methods to help you do this.

1. Show the kids that they can have fun without spending money

Play with your kids as often as you can without emptying your wallet. By doing this, you will show that rampant fun and spending money are almost mutually exclusive things.

Dance with them, sing loudly, play board games, paint together: have each family member draw their part of the picture on a large piece of paper. The options are many, and so are the benefits: you show your kids that fun and fun are not about buying things.

2. Teach children to seek happiness within

Have an evening ritual: Before going to bed, the children talk about three events that happened during the day for which they are grateful. Focusing on the positive in life is the foundation of happiness and a powerful technique to combat the craving for consumption.

The desire to possess more and more new things is due to dissatisfaction with life and the inner emptiness that the child is trying to fill with something from the outside. A happy and contented child, by definition, cannot be an irrepressible consumer.

3. Reward for achievements not with things, but with special events

When your child has achieved success in school, creativity or household chores, instead of a new toy, reward him with special impressions: go to an exhibition, a museum, a zoo, organize a hike or picnic in a place you haven’t been before.

It is very valuable for a child to feel your attention and that you devote time to him. He will be glad to have new interesting experiences and will learn to value communication with loved ones.

4. Watch what you say

An unbreakable rule: follow what you teach yourself. And if at a family dinner you complain that your neighbor has a new car, and a colleague at work has a phone of the latest model, then why be surprised that a child will perceive expensive things as an indicator of status and success.

If you can not restrain yourself at all, then at least with children, do not conduct such conversations.

5. Teach your child to help

By helping a younger brother, grandmother, or elderly neighbor, children learn compassion. And they spend more time thinking about how they can still help loved ones, forgetting about their fleeting desires.

6. Strengthen family values

If you want your child to absorb the values of your family, be sure to talk to him about it. Ask him to name five values that he considers to be basic, and tell him how to follow this value system in life.

If, for example, a child talks about generosity, explain that it is necessary to share with those who have less. If it’s about compassion, tell me how you can support loved ones and friends.

Understanding the importance of moral values and the ability to apply them in life helps children understand that the kind of things that you don't need to spend money on are really priceless.