Teaching Kids Value: A Mall Experience

I really used to love going to malls. One of my favorite memories as a kid was scraping up enough money during the week to purchase a new hip-hop cassette tape and a paper cup of thick-cut fries from the Steak Escape. We took our children to the Opry Mills Mall in Nashville on vacation so they could see its grandness. I turned my back for one minute and it happened. My daughter was held hostage by a shiny object at a kiosk.

The young lady was selling "splat toys". You fling it at the wall and it flattens out in a hilarious fashion. My daughter was intrigued and proceeded to practice her softball pitching motion and hit the bullseye. She thought the price wasn't a good deal, walked away, but then accepted the lady's counteroffer. She spent her hard-earned allowance money and this is where the story becomes a life lesson.

When she got a chance to use the new toy it burst open after about a dozen tosses. She was quite upset that her money was now gone and she had no way to return it. No, I didn't rush out and buy her a new one. I didn't offer to reimburse her for the allowance. I did teach her what the phrase "Caveat Emptor" means.