My husband and I thought we were planning ahead when we decided to settle in a middle class neighborhood.  Our first son was about to start kindergarten and our second son was on his way.  Providing a good education was very important to us, so we bought our first home two blocks from the grade school in a well respected school district.  Most of the families in our area were like us, young couples just starting off with children.

Now, six years later, the kids are prematurely becoming teenagers and neighborhood values seem to have changed.  No longer is it acceptable just to go to the park or play with friends outside.  Instead, there must be constant stimulation accompanied by frequent material gratification.  Basic living necessities now include Nintendo 64, Gameboy, Pokemon cards, and surround- sound big screen televisions.  Each new day is also met with the latest story of how a neighborhood child received an expensive toy long before Christmas and without a birthday in sight.  

Now every time my husband or I enter a store we are bombarded with requests by our children to buy the latest toy sweeping the neighborhood.  Meals are also a problem, because many of the neighborhood children frequently eat at fast food restaurants that also offer toys.  It is difficult to convince my children that eating at home is okay. 

In an attempt to build good habits, my husband and I implemented the old weekly allowance.  In exchange for a few responsibilities each day, my sons are paid the princely sum of 10 dollars per week.  This money can be used in any way the kids see fit, and for the most part it seems to be an effective way to teach our children the value of money.  In fact, my children quickly adapted to this mode of operation.  Acting together, they pooled approximately five months of allowances and birthday money to buy a Nintendo 64 video game.

But sometimes the "glass ball" gets broken when it becomes obvious that not all families practice the same values.  As an example, our oldest son had a friend over who had also recently acquired a Nintendo 64 video game.  When my son asked his friend how long it took for him to save for the video game, the boy replied that his mother just bought it for him.  Yikes!  

Sometimes in this world of material gratification it is very difficult to convince your children that learning to spend money wisely will actually benefit them in the end.  I only hope that because my husband and I recognize our place as stewards of the planet, and accordingly choose to live well within our means, that our children will someday recognize the value in what they have and not in what they don't have.