Although you may be a disciplined shopper, able to go into any given store and spend only a few minute there, picking out what you need, purchasing it, and then leaving, the same is not always true for your children.

Children, much more than adults, are impacted by the commercials with which they are bombarded during every cartoon show or kid-safe show that they watch.

Kids also have a lot less discipline than adults, when it comes to seeing something that they want.  They see something, they want it, it’s as simple as that, and they can mope and whine and have a fit until they get what they want, or they can have parents who buy them anything, just as a matter of course.

Either way, the things that have been bought for them are typically used for a day, then left on the floor gathering dust until mom (or dad) picks them up and shoves them in the closet.  It’s a never ending cycle, though, as I can attest from experiences with my sister and brother-in-law and their eleven year old, who is always “rewarded” with a toy from a gift shop for not having acted up too badly while going through a museum or store.

And while little kids may be impacted by their teacher’s urging them to “save the environment,” unfortunately many of them, once they get to teen age, think nothing about throwing their trash on the ground as they walk from store or fast-food restaurant to car.  It needs more than lessons at school to teach them about saving the environment by not littering, parents need to get into the act as well.

Simply, parents have to teach kids, from a young age, to give some thought to themselves and what they’re doing.  Don’t pick up after your kid from the ages of five to ten, and then all of a sudden expect them at age ten to start picking up after themselves.  It isn’t going to happen.  “That’s what mom’s for,” is their motto.

Saying “no” to kids who ask for toys as you go through a store can be difficult for some parents, but it needs to be done.  At least, should your children exhibit a pattern of asking for something, using it once, and then never using it again, don’t get into the habit of continuing to enable them to be so wasteful.  It can set a precedent that will continue on even into adulthood.

Kids need their parents to be parents, not friends.  And one way to be a parent is to ensure that you teach your kids how to be stewards of their environment.  Don’t start when they are three or four – that’s a bit too young!  But once they are five or six, it’s time to start teaching them the things they’ll need to know to get on in life.