Learn Needs And Wants

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In my earlier post "Teaching Financial Responsibilities to Kids" I had mentioned about teaching kids to differentiate between Needs and Wants. Sometimes its a very thin line between Needs and Wants for kids. The other day I asked my son, If you were to win 10,000 rupees, How would you spend it? Give me a list of ten items that you need and wish to buy and ten items that you do not need but still want to buy.  Also keep in mind about savings and charity.

After a considerable amount of pondering, scribbling, scratching, and rewriting  several times. He finally handed me the list. It took me a while to read as the list was pretty LONG. I asked him to sit beside me and while going through each item, we discussed why he thought it was a NEED or a WANT. Wow, they sure have their way of convincing, sometimes the reasoning's are logically so strong; you just cant disagree even though your mind refuses to agree. It got me thinking for a minute!!

Why not make him play some fun games where he could get some practice to make things a lot more clear? Let me share some activities that we played to clear the confusion between Needs and Wants.

1)The Reaching home Hopscotch Game:
 We made 2 Hopscotch tables on the floor with thick masking tape. Drew houses at the end of each table. You need 2 kids at a time, to play this game.We had a bunch of cards with one item written on each card. Each child pulled a card. They guessed whether it was a NEED or WANT. With the correct answer the child moved one step ahead. The child who reached the house first won the game.

2) Let' go to the Supermarket
 I asked my son to go around the house and make a list of items that needed to be refilled or bought.He was allowed to ask people around the house what was needed or had to be refilled. Then we went to the Supermarket and asked him to pick 20 items that we needed in the house, items we could not do without that week (NEEDS). The total of those items could not exceed a certain amount, and if he was able to pick the 20 needed items and save a certain amount, he was entitled for an ice-cream treat. Yes! it can take quite a few hours, so make sure you have enough time before you head to the near by supermarket.

3) Different Countries, Different Needs
 We picked three countries with different seasons going on at the same time. India (Monsoon), USA (Summer),South  Africa (Winter). Then he made a list of things people living in each of these countries would need that particular time. The different clothing, The different Foods and Drinks, The reason why the houses differed in these countries. The different cultural needs of the people, sports, vehicles.

It is important for kids to know that every individual or every household has different needs. It is absolutely okay for people to have different things. If our need of the hour is groceries, then our neighbors need of the hour maybe toiletries. If his friend earns a new toy, No he does not need to get the same thing. And it is OKAY if he does not own the same thing. Surely he has tons of things, his friend doesn't have. This is where we have to ask ourselves, Do I want this? Yes, But do I need it? Is it okay if I don,t get it? Maybe I can just go to his house and share with him. That way when he comes to my house, he can share my stuff. No point spending money on the same thing when its not needed.

On the other hand they also need to know that WANT is an amazing thing, yes I want a lot of things too. Wants make us work hard to achieve our desires. Sometimes I get what I want, and many a times I decide to get it later, or not at all. All of it is OKAY!! It helps us balance our lives, finances and also controls the urge to spend.

4) For the younger kids the printable below is a great practice:

Cut out the pictures from the bottom of the worksheet and ask your child to glue them in the correct box.

Click on this Needs And Wants to download the worksheet for practice:

Once the child has completed the worksheet, go through each picture and ask for a reason why your child has put that item in a particular box. Ice-cream candy, headphones, and the duck toy are WANTS. Its okay if we do not buy them,we can live without them. On the other hand trees give us oxygen, a house gives us shelter, We cannot stay alive without food, and water is used for drinking, washing, cleaning and cooking. These are our NEEDS we cannot live without. Thus teaching them the difference between needs and wants. Once they understand this basic concept of NEEDS and WANTS. You can take other examples like toys, clothes shoes and so on, to discuss whether they need it or want it. Whether its okay if we do not buy it or buy is later.

5) Let's Go Kidzania:
Kidzania has a complete supermarket for kids. That would be an ideal place for kids to explore. take your kids to Kidzania and let them learn on their own.


6) It's Funn to Play Supermarket!
I gifted my niece a supermarket set on her 4th birthday. Its a perfect set with, a cash register, bar code scanner, trolley basket, and a market with fruits, veges, and other household NEEDS. You should also try and get these for preschoolers, it makes learning NEEDS and WANTS a lot simpler. (And keeps them busy hours at a stretch).

Go ahead post a comment and tell me how you educated your child with "The Needs and Wants".