Teaching Children to be Frugal: A Necessary Skill for the 21st Century

Like I was during my childhood, from the time my children were old enough to conceptualize numbers, cost, and value, my children were taught how to shop – unit pricing, etc. and so on – the difference between need and want, the relationship between time and money, and the means of determining the concrete and abstract value of objects and ideals. My children have no real interest in high-dollar, faddish toys and other consumer crap. What they ache for right now is a chicken coop and some chicks, a goat pen and some goats to go in it, and – of course – ponies. Oh, and they also really, really, really want a couple miniature Jersey cows, since they’ve done a little research on the milk production and feed ratio for that breed.