Should I give my children money when I sell their things?

bennett2kuk · 21 January 2015 at 9:51AM

I have done this before. I've overbought on things for xmas then discovered that they haven't used them at all. For instance I bought a leap pad well before my son could actually use it, I ended up selling it as he never actually used it and didn't give him the money.
But for toys he has genuinely used and I've managed to sell on then I've made sure he gets the money. Although very little sells for very much on ebay now anyway to warrant bothering to list them.
We've given a lot of his stuff to our friends' children or dropped them off at the charity shop at the end of our street.
Even if you keep the money yourself they'll still end up with it eventually in some way, but if I went on a clearing mission then my son would get the money in his savings.

quidsy · 21 January 2015 at 9:54AM

No........

Cookie1986 · 21 January 2015 at 9:55AM

It depends on the nature in which they were given. If you’re selling items given to them as gifts then the money is rightly theirs, although I think it is fair if you use the cash to buy them other items. Clothes etc I would not see it as immoral to retain the cash, I imagine that you will spend the cash (plus lots more) on your children anyway in the future one way or another.

Jagraf · 21 January 2015 at 9:55AM

My DD is 15 so we've reached the end of toys now, but I had absolutely no problem at all selling stuff she no longer used and keeping the money, as directly or indirectly it went back on her anyway, and it may have meant us affording a holiday or something else she would have enjoyed much more than the money.

Most of the stuff would have gathered dust by the time it was sold.

I do not feel one little bit guilty. Be it to help with petrol to pick up her friends, bus money for a trip into town, or tickets to the cinema, its much better than her spending the money on tat like false nails and plastic.

She now has pocket money and buys her own clothes unless its winter coats, boots, school stuff etc. if she doesn't look after that, grows out of it, or generally leaves it lying around, I tell her I will sell that too. If she wants to make the effort to help me put it on ebay, then she can keep the money.

d70cw6 · 21 January 2015 at 10:46AM

i dont think my 3 or 5 year old would invest that money wisely. best i spend it on beer and fags.

Alikay · 21 January 2015 at 11:12AM

I kept the money from selling outgrown clothes but let them keep the proceeds from toys etc. DS1 (always the entrepreneur!) kept his stuff in pristine condition along with the boxes, whereas his younger brother stripped stuff down to its individual components then lost or trampled on bits! Letting them have the money from anything which was sold seemed a fair way to encourage looking after their things (oddly ineffective with DS2 though :rotfl:)

Selling family items such as Duplo, toy kitchen, play house etc meant the money either went towards another jointly owned item, or split between the 3 of them.

tgroom57 · 21 January 2015 at 11:12AM

you could Piggybank the money for future toy spends. I don't actually keep the (very small) amount separate, but I make a note he has a 'toy credit' for when needed. And toy spend is across the year, none of this "only at Christmas".

ben_m_g · 21 January 2015 at 11:20AM

Yes I really think do think so. Ethically the items are theirs, no matter who gave it to them.

LO is still a little young to properly understand, but we use it to try to instil the value of money, saving, and ownership.
DD has a piggy bank anything little goes in there, if it is a big amount we use it to buy her something else. (She will often help chose).

This has really helped us teach her (and come to peace with) that her old things have to be sold and that by doing so that can get her new toys.
Even more so, as she was born in December, by the summer most of her things are too small or simple, so she can have more appropriate things without spending more.

zanymusiclover · 21 January 2015 at 11:32AM

Of course you should! those toys belong to your children. You could put the money into savings accounts for them, they can then save for large purchases.

lazer · 21 January 2015 at 11:41AM

It depends - are the toys given to the children as gifts, if so then I suppose they are the childrens.

If you buy them for the children to play with, then they are yours, so keep the money and put it towards their next toys

Should I give my children money when I sell their things?

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