I Want a Hot Wheels Game and a Wii for Christmas
Posted by Lynnae on December 17, 2007
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I thought I had it all figured out. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about ways to keep your children from getting the gimmes this Christmas. Then Saturday morning happened.
My 5 year old son was sitting at the kitchen table, happily eating his cereal, when the words came out of his mouth.
I want a Hot Wheels game
* and a Wii
* for Christmas.
I did a double take. Perhaps I hadn’t heard correctly. “What did you just say?”
I want a Hot Wheels game and a Wii for Christmas.
I didn’t know my 5 year old son even knew what a Wii was. Where could he have learned about it? I knew that he found the Hot Wheels game in the Toys R Us catalog that didn’t get thrown out before he grabbed hold of it. But the Wii?
Then I remembered. NASCAR. My son’s favorite sport. He watches a lot of it, and he knows all the drivers, numbers, ….and sponsors. This has gotten us into trouble before. And when I thought about it, it occurred to me that Greg Biffle had driven a car sponsored by Wii this season. Those marketers sure know what they’re doing.
Will my son be getting a Wii for Christmas? No. First of all, I’ve already done my Christmas shopping. Beyond that, though, I don’t believe in buying my children everything they ask for. I don’t want my children to get everything they ask for at Christmas.
Overindulging children can lead to bad consequences. This was demonstrated in a recent article by CNN money about a family that earns a six figure income, yet has no emergency fund. When you put your children’s desires above your family’s needs, your priorities are just wrong.
What are you teaching your children by doing this? First, you teach them that buying something just because they want it is OK, even if it comes at the cost of not achieving a long term financial goal…like college savings or retirement. That’s how most people get into debt.
Second, it sets them up for unrealistic expectations later in life. I think a lot of young couples get into debt, because they want everything they had growing up right away. The nice house, the nice car, the nice clothes. They’ve never had to experience delayed gratification, so they go into debt for wants, not taking into account that the debt will effect their ability to pay for their needs down the line.
Am I saying that it’s wrong to buy a Wii for Christmas? Absolutely not. For our family, it’s wrong this year. We just can’t afford it without going into debt. If you can afford a Wii without going into debt, and you want to give it to your kids this Christmas, by all means do so with my blessing. But please remember to say no to your kids once in a while. If you never say no, you’re setting them up for failure in life.
If you want to read more on the subject of the consequences of overindulging children and how to avoid it, I encourage you to read Overspending for the Kids at Consumerism Commentary and Going Broke on a Six Figure Salary: First Blame the Kids at Debt Free Mom.
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I am not a financial expert. I'm just a wife and mom doing the best I can to live a frugal life and get out of debt. Like any human, I make mistakes. I write this blog out of my own experiences, and nothing I write should be taken as expert advice. If you need financial advice, please consult a professional.
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Your so right, about the young couples having expectations to start our with the same lifestyle, their parents have achieved. They forget that it’s taken years for their parents to get to that point. My boys are at this age. They’re watching a lot of their friends go debt over extravagant purchases, that young twenty-somethings, really don’t need at that stage of their life. Like you said…they crave that immediate gratification!
At least you can be reasonably certain that your son doesn’t really want a Wii, since it sounds like he doesn’t really know what one is.
People do get used to expecting a certain form of lifestyle. I think it probably used to be the case that when you were just starting our you couldn’t afford it. Now that credit is so ubiquitous, it seems as if you can afford it - even when that’s far from the truth.
I agree a hundred percent. That said we ARE looking for a wii, only because my bil brought his over the other day and we realized that here is a game that not only gets the whole family involved but gets the whole family MOVING. My arm is STILL sore from playing tennis for an hour two days ago.:) With the health issues in our house combined with having avid gamer geeks, a game system that keep people from sitting STILL is very important.
I very much agree. It’s been hard for me to go from living a comfortable life with my parents to getting married and starting from scratch. I have to tell myself a lot that we’ll get to where my parents are, and the lifestyle I remember growing up, eventually! But it won’t be overnight, and it will take some work.
@Plonkee - Good point. I think the availability of credit and the fact that we live in an immediate society both contribute to the problem. We’re used to not having to wait for anything anymore.
@Heather - I hope you find your Wii. I have to admit, if I were to buy a game system, that would be the one I’d get. And I’ll probably get one in the next couple of years if we save the money. I think our family would enjoy it. This year isn’t the year, though. Plus, my kids haven’t begged for a gaming system (until my son mentioned the Wii), so why even introduce it yet?
@Alison - It is definitely a struggle starting from scratch, especially if you have a peer group that’s getting everything now. You have a great attitude, though!
Even if you wanted to buy a Wii it would be nearly impossible to find one. Just like last Christmas there seems to be a Wii shortage. The product has been on the market for over a year yet the supply has never met the demand. Sometimes I think Nintendo creates that scarcity intentionally to increase children’s desire for it.
Even though I’m cynical about the Wii I’d love to try playing the Wii tennis game.
I’ve also read about how there are Wii bowling tournaments in senior citizen centers and how the Wii is the first inter-generational game system.
http://www.gatherlittlebylittl.....d-to-find/
I read a major financial adviser (can’t remember which one) recommends always saying “no” to your kids first. If they really want it, they will find another way to get it.
I was shocked to learn this last week that Wii’s only retail for $250–as gaming systems go they are pretty cheap. Two of my nephews bought them-at the store-for list price last month. But now they are in short supply. I think the demand feeds more demand though-people want what they can’t have and feel the need to compete for it when there’s scarcity. That is a big part of why Ebay is a success to begin with.
I admit, I want a Wii–as game systems go, they are a lot more interactive, and they are really fun. But not this year for us, because its not in the plan.
Well said Lynnae. I have found that my kids just don’t appreciate gifts if they come one after another after another. Then they just sit in the closet and gather dust. My thought is gifts for children need to be a special treat and not an expectation.
I can kind of understand the Wii, because it would make a good gift for the whole family, but people just get nuts around Christmas.
@Kyle - That’s exactly it. What makes gifts special is that they aren’t expected.
We don’t really get our children much during the year. We encourage them to save and buy things they want. We seldom purchase more than the occasional gift as a reward for some achievement or purchasing clothes, shoes, etc.
However, at Christmas is when we go a little extra for them. For example, they’ve been wanting an XBox360 all year. They are getting one and some games.
I think it’s really about finding the balance, and giving, but not overdoing it. I know families that get their children a toy, an XBox Game, an iPod, etc. every time they go out.
I love my children enough to NOT give them everything they ask for. In the long run, you’re just hurting them.
Hmmm. That’s another post. Except that my parents read my blog. LOL
Ah, we give our parents a limit
realise that a trip to Disneyland, a Wii and a humungus flat screen television are beyond my means. Gulp wine as I’…’http://www.notjustaprettymum.com/2007/12/05/december-to-do-list/
I need to refer one of my coworkers to this post. She paid over $400 for a Wii because her 7 yr old wanted one. He then told her he wanted a new laptop and she is getting him that too. I just shook my head and went back to my desk.
Excellent post! I agree, SGM’s co-worker is teaching her son some pretty scary beliefs about money and “wants”. Yikes!
Wow! I read the article that you linked to about the family who was totally in debt because they could not say no to their children. I was shocked! That just seems so incredibly crazy. I realize my children are young but we don’t have any trouble saying no to them so I imagine it will be the same when they ask for stuff.
Well, another thing that can make you feel good is that there is no way to find Wii in stores anyhow. My friend had to wait outside game stores for two weeks before she finally got one.
But your point is good anyhow.