{ spending hiatus - month 3: week 1 }

As mentioned before one of the reasons I have been doing this {official} spending hiatus and avoiding Target and Anthropologie like the plague is that I want Sam to understand that it is more important to be DOING instead of BUYING. I realize this will be a harder concept as she gets in school and feels the pressure to own certain things. It doesn't feel like that long ago, that I was there begging my mom for a pair of Guess Jeans because EVERYONE had them. ;-)

Here are some action tips on this topic from the New American Dream:

• Get rid of the TV.
• Expose kids to other media - surrealist films, art exhibits, museums, gatherings of interesting adult friends with non-mainstream stories to tell.
• Parents who resist consumerism for themselves are the ones who teach their children to resist it.
• Teach children to be doers and creators rather than shoppers and buyers.
• Supply them with sidewalk chalk, old cardboard boxes and other makings of creative play.
• Grow your own food. Involve the kids. Teach your child of the connections within the natural world. Experience their beauty together. Talk about where things come from, who made them, what they are made of.
• Teach by example and conviction a set of values that allow kids to make their own choices.
• Teach kids empathy for others. Instead of buying toys, suggest they spend the money bringing some groceries to the local food bank.

“My children are seduced into believing that if they have the right things or more things, they will not just be happier, but also more popular. This culture that sees kids mostly as consumers is creating a future generation of kids that have not felt valued for their character or their contributions to the greater community.” - Jane Brolsma, Oregon via the New American Dream.

What tips do you have for teaching your children mindful consumption?

{ps - my spending hiatus update from this week... I got a pedicure and we ate out 2 times as we were on the road for a fun, spontaneous trip to Moab. A little break {from work + the meal plan which was great}. Spent the last few days in Moab hiking, swimming & biking (and not shopping) - athough if any of you have ever been to Moab you'd know that avoid shopping when there aren't many stores isn't much of a feat in itself!)

image via flickr