How to manage your children’s expectations

Why do people have less money at the moment?

This is an important place to start. While the cost of living crisis is all too familiar to parents and adults, children will often feel confused or uncertain around changing budgets. You could start by breaking down rising prices in a simplified way and explain that it now costs more money to cook dinner and have the lights on every evening. For now, that means you have less to spend on fun things like presents – but emphasise that you can still have fun celebrating with everyone you love.

Why it’s important to be grateful for all gifts

Whether it’s a new video game or a big bar of chocolate, showing gratitude for every gift is important. Most kids know this, but it’s worth talking about – especially if they’re used to receiving more than they will for upcoming events. Remind them that gifts are just a way to express love to one another, and that the meaning behind receiving presents is more important than the gift itself. Any present is a treat, no matter the size.

Gifts aren’t essential spending

This one can be tricky to communicate. To a child, that new toy they desperately want may very much seem like an essential purchase. But sitting down with them and chatting about the things they may take for granted at home, like being warm and eating three meals every day, may help your child understand how bills need to be paid first – and if there isn’t money left for gifts afterwards, that’s okay.

The importance of sharing

A small positive of challenging financial times is the opportunity to teach your child about the importance of sharing with those less fortunate than us. Giving is often more rewarding than receiving, so why not flip the conversation and talk about ways that you can help those around you during difficult times?

You could help them decide which toys they don’t need any more and can be given to charity, or – if you are able to – maybe you could let your child pick some extra items to buy at the supermarket to donate to your local food bank. These actions can help to teach about both sharing and gratitude.

Help them make a realistic gift list

Children change their mind a lot about what gifts they want for birthdays, Christmas and other occasions – so starting a list early means you can be confident about the items they really want and weed out the requests they’ll soon forget about.

This is also a great opportunity to teach your kids vital lessons around budgeting and resourcing. Give them ownership over wish listing but agree a price cap on their requests and allow them to determine which items are most important to them. This also helps to shift their expectations if they are used to receiving higher-priced items and involves them in the process. Digital wish lists are a good way of keeping track of items and sharing them with friends and family for ease too.