Old Style Children?

Lavandula

Anyone got any ideas on how to bring up my son (age 6) so that he appreciates the non-materialistic things in life?

It is so hard to try and draw him away from the advertising and pressure from other kids to 'conform', i.e. buy the latest toy craze, eat junk food, play video games etc.

HELP anyone?

fuddle

I don't believe that my two will ever move away from the wants of all things plastic or full of sugar.. they have their wants but have to wait or work for them.

For me, it's more that they're experiencing OS activities along side living in society as it is today. So, the excitement that comes with foraging or the enjoyment of making the pudding. Seeing mam cut up something old to make something new.

As long as my two know basic skills and basic money values and manners then i'll be happy. Hope to help.

WantToBeSE

Lavandula wrote: »

Anyone got any ideas on how to bring up my son (age 6) so that he appreciates the non-materialistic things in life?

It is so hard to try and draw him away from the advertising and pressure from other kids to 'conform', i.e. buy the latest toy craze, eat junk food, play video games etc.

HELP anyone?

I think that its perfectly possible to bring him up so that he appreciates the non-materialistic things in life..but not INSTEAD of wanting the latest toy/game etc.
At the end of the day, kids are kids, they will want what their friends have, what the latest toy etc is.

Instilling a work ethic is the best way to go in my opinion, so there is nothing wrong with him wanting these things, but showing him that he must work in order to get them.
Like he saves pocket money which he earns from doing chores etc.

And if you think its bad at 6, wait until they are 13!:D

Beetlemama

Most of us will confess we started off joyously deciding which cloth diapers to use and making our own baby food but ended up giving them a packet of Wotsits and leaving them saucer-eyed in front of the Teletubbies within three years. Me too, but he was so happy and I'm not against kids having fun.

Just do your best to keep showing them the simple things, I don't think kids are too stuck in the future that they're not interested in the world at large, my son is 9 and he'd forever live and die on the xbox if I left him there without disturbing him...he'd come up for food every so often - but if I say come on lets go collect eggs/pick berries or go for a walk in the woods, he'll be up and at the door with shoes on in seconds.

He's a lover of technology but he's also as fascinated by the natural world as most kids are, you just have to encourage it and prompt the interesting questions that lead to discussion and discovery. He can split a log with an axe (terrifying) and correctly choose and collect edible berries, build/light a fire, cook basic food like pasta and make cookies (from a packet mix granted) without help, run his own bath, change his bed you know, normal things.

I definitely let him have tech-time though, they have to, that's the world we live in now. He's got an Xbox and a Blackberry on contract.

PasturesNew

When we were kids, there was plenty of temptation and TV advertising ... stuff we wanted. Parents said we couldn't afford it and that was that. Tiny tears, Lego, Cindy dolls, Scalextric, a colour telly, heating in winter, fizzy pop, chocolate biscuits, a swing in the garden, clothes that weren't second-hand..... what parents said was what happened and there was no point getting 4rsey as we'd get a smacked bum and STILL not have the goodies.

Mojisola

Lavandula wrote: »

It is so hard to try and draw him away from the advertising and pressure from other kids to 'conform', i.e. buy the latest toy craze, eat junk food, play video games etc.

It's worth spending time with children to teach them the tricks advertisers use to make the stuff look so appealing. I remember talking through a Lego advert with my son - if you get that kit, will the bits be huge like they look on the TV, will the spaceship really fly round the room, will it interact with you? If you can make them advert-savvy, they won't get taken in quite so much.

freyasmum

Lavandula wrote: »

Anyone got any ideas on how to bring up my son (age 6) so that he appreciates the non-materialistic things in life?

It is so hard to try and draw him away from the advertising and pressure from other kids to 'conform', i.e. buy the latest toy craze, eat junk food, play video games etc.

HELP anyone?

The world that we live in is so technology-driven that to allow him none is to hold him back, and you'll never be able to prevent him from seeing all the advertising (you can teach him that nothing is ever as good as it looks in the adverts... burgers being a case in point!). However, if you give him a good grounding, if you live your OS lifestyle, then he'll remember and will always have something to fall back on. He'll probably go through the stage of 'value lemonade/beans/tomatoes/cereal/anything plastered with the word value?! I'm not going to buy that :eek:', but will realise (when he's spending his own money ) that it's not so bad.

Take him foraging, if that's your thing, have picnic days out at the beach/play park (if it's ever dry enough *rolleyes*), go exploring around your countryside, spend time with him (not saying you don't, btw!) because these are the things that children love to do.

If you always cook, mend, let him have a little of what he fancies but teach him not to always request/want everything, treat junk food as an occasional treat, etc then he'll grow up thinking that these are normal things to do, rather than bunging a ready meal in the micro, and chucking out perfectly good clothes just because they're missing a button, and buying every single thing he wants just well, just cos he wants them.

Children are products of their upbringing; they're what we, as parents, make them

Lazy_Liz

I don't have children so I can't help you with how but I came to appreciate the non material things becuase my parents simply could not afford to buy us the things we wanted. However they made sure we got lots of their attention, we did lots of things together as a family, blackberrying, country walks and picnics (nothing fancy just a 4lb margarine tub full of sandwiches, homemade cake and an apple and a flask of milky coffee). We still wanted the things in the ads (a bit of me still wants an Etch-a-sketch and I'm 47!:rotfl:) but we also knew how to make fun out of almost nothing.
We went to Brownies and Guides, great places to learn about fun that dosen't cost anything, if you want to try this ask about for the best run group in your area. (Beavers, Cubs and Scouts for boys) we learnt all kinds of songs and games, as well as lots of crafts and outdoor activites.

Mum knitted and made clothes, dad grew fruit and veg and we all had to help out podding and topping and tailing ready for the freezer. We helped with cooking and all three of us are good cooks now, an essential OS skill.
Even small children can help put at home with simple chores, drying the cutlery or putting the cutlery away from the dishwasher. Bed making, putting dirty clothes in the washing basket etc. This is essential if you want a child who understands that all this does not happen by magic, nor are mummy and daddy still his slaves (you did all that when he was born)

good luck

bossymoo

I think personally, slightly less tv and getting used to being told no from an early age, then later teaching the value of money and reinforcing that life is about people, not stuff, at each step.

Slowly and gently does it. This is a lifelong commitment, not something you can just explain to a child and they "get it". Just keep on plugging away at those values that are important to your family.

What children really crave is your time. So when the next advert results in "I want" challenge him to make his own version, and promise to help him!

Beetlemama

Lazy_Liz wrote: »

(a bit of me still wants an Etch-a-sketch and I'm 47! )

That's awesome. Get one, then when you're done playing with it, Freecycle it to a little kid that's just like you were.

Butterfly_Brain

When my two were young money was tight, still is truth be told, but they were told no at an early age and we never lied to them we always told them that the money wasn't there and you wanted something that you had to work for it.
We used to go charity shop hunting when it wasn't as popular and overpriced as it is now :eek: Saturday we went for a walk with a picnic, or went fruit and veg picking at a pick your own farm, and if we could afford the petrol, a day at the seaside. In the Autumn we went foraging together and had a good laugh, then we came home with our "Bounty" and turned it into all sorts of delicious things, Rose Hip syrup, Jams, pesto, and wines. We carved pumpkins at Halloween and bobbed for apples, made gingerbread men and houses and "stained glass" biscuits at Christmas or ice candle holders, decorations and presents etc
They both were told about the way that advertisers target children especially at Christmas and DD being a media student learn't even more of the underhand tricks used when she studied for her HNC :eek:
They still love car boot sales, charity shop mooching, foraging and cooking and have grown into savvy young adults and I am really proud of them. DS saved his EMA for a year to get himself a computer and DD did the same to buy herself a lap top.