Supermarket with children: education or trap?

Taking advantage of the moment of doing business with your children to start a kind of financial education can be a good idea, but it requires care.

It is not news to anyone that, in our current society, women continue to be primarily responsible for tasks related to caring for people and/or household chores. This occurs even with so many advances in relation to women and the job market, as well as the improvement in the division of responsibilities within the home between the couple. 

Even so, look at the disparity: men use, on average, 10.5 hours a week dedicated to caring for people and/or household chores, while women dedicate 18.1 hours to this same function. That is, women use about 73% more of their time than men in these functions. These data were disclosed by the IBGE report called “Gender Statistics Social indicators of women in Brazil”.

And included in these hours dedicated to caring for the home and family are the children and market purchases for the house. And that's why women often end up going to the supermarket with their children. 

Grocery shopping with your children can be an excellent financial education tool. 

The environment is like a real amusement park for children, as it involves a lot of distraction. But at the same time, educational possibilities. That's why the place can work very well to train discipline and planning, both for children and adults.

However, when mismanaged, contrary to expectations, this experience can be the beginning of “miseducation”. 

So what's the right way to put your kids on an upward path of success in financial education?

Supermarket for children: discipline or invitation to distraction?

Well, we already know that women are still primarily responsible for taking care of the house and children. But they are also primarily responsible for household purchases, especially in retail. According to the Associação Paulista de Supermercados, APA, women are a key player in purchasing behavior, representing more than 70% of participation at the point of sale.

That is, they are the majority in supermarket environments and, most of the time, they are accompanied by their children. So let's see how these moments can be better used?

Think of the supermarket as an amusement park for children. Full of colorful gondolas, intentionally installed so that the products are within reach of the hands. 

For some families, this is an environment that brings the opportunity to teach about financial education. For others, it is nothing more than an invitation to stimulate stressful scenes of tantrums and a lot of crying.  

In fact, the location can cause both situations. Who will command the rhythm is who accompanies the child. 

“Children learn a lot by observation. A whole contextualization of education and financial planning is useless if parents do not do it in practice. In this case, conflicting messages are sent to children”. Who makes the alert is the economist, Stephan Sawitzk. 

For him, parents can and should take their children to the supermarket in order to educate them financially, as long as they manage to maintain discipline and use “no” in an argumentative way. 

Otherwise, according to him, what could be “financial education” could turn into “diseducation”.

But can the educational experience be absorbed by children of any age? What about the stressful environment that can be created by a mother who is already tired of her double workdays inside and outside the home and a child who wants what she can't have? 

Finance: when to start educating

For the economist, it is very important in the child's development phase, that the power of argumentation of the parents is adapted to the understanding capacity of each age.

“The transparency of parents regarding. the reasons for what can. or cannot be consumed is of paramount importance. The sooner we can bring children into a discussion about money, the more understanding they will have on the subject as they mature,” explains Sawitzk.

However, we know that saying no to your children's cravings can be an arduous task. 

“It is necessary to explain. to the children that, for consumption to exist, there must be a counterpart: money. It's just that getting the money is something difficult. Thus, they will be better prepared for future frustrations”, she clarifies.

Putting the educational market into practice

However, it is possible to follow a logical sequence in dealing with children. In order not to give the false impression that everything can be achieved easily, one way is to explain the concept of choices in consumption and teach how the counterpart works.

But how to translate this in a way that children understand? 

“I really like the idea of ​​introducing. the concept of choice, as soon as children begin. to understand simple arithmetic operations. For example: I have 'x' resources, and I want to buy 'y' products. At this moment, the child realizes that, perhaps, he cannot buy everything and that he will need to choose”.

The economist continues: “In a second moment, it is possible to bring. the concept that this 'x' resource can be saved. and added to the next 'x', which will expand the consumption capacity”. 

And how can parents put this methodology into practice? 

“I've always liked the idea of ​​'allowance' or 'weekly allowance', as long as they are well accompanied and with constructive feedback given back”, explains Stephan Sawitzk. 

And where can this concept be inserted when going to the supermarket? 

“The best way. to teach children. is to give them autonomy to manage their consumption”, he adds.

Caution: it's a trap!

Mothers who decide to take their children to the supermarket, or who have no other choice and need to carry their children in tow, must be careful not to give in to pressure and emotional blackmail from children. 

But, this shouldn't just happen at market time. The ideal is to pay attention to how children's desires are treated in general, in other everyday situations.

Especially when a colleague or friend with more financial capacity has easier access to consumption.

“Attempting to match. in addition to giving children. the wrong idea about money. can generate financial imbalance for parents. Children have a lot of capacity to absorb information, for this reason, educational and argumentative conversations must occur very frequently”, points out the economist.

Finally, he reinforces the importance of inviting the entire closest family circle to talk about finances with children, including grandparents.

“The cycle of education. is only closed if everyone. is willing to participate and practice. In addition, when it comes to children, I really like the idea of ​​some kind of compulsory investment, within the possibilities of the family, so that at least education is guaranteed”, he points out.

building independent adults 

Showing the limitations of consumption can be a way of educating. But the “no” must be accompanied by a financial argument, as the economist points out. 

“Without a doubt, it is not an easy exercise. but the long-term benefits. can be very good. A child who grows up with a good financial education will be less susceptible to financial problems in the future. They will probably be more prepared professionals with a much greater capacity to generate wealth”, he concludes.