I got a dollar

My brother’s birthday is tomorrow. He’ll be five. My grandparents always send us cards on our birthdays since they live somewhat far away. They always give us money too, because, well, it’s our birthday.

When my brother’s card arrived today, my little sister, who gets excited whether the excitement belongs to her or not, begged my mother to let him open it a day early. She agreed. My brother tore off the envelope ripping it to shreds, the sloppy way little kids do, and pulled out the card and opened it. Caught by gravity, the twenty fell to the floor. My little sister, excited as always, picked up the bill and ran over to me, brandishing the green paper, screaming with joy. Well, my little brother was not going to just let her jack his money like that, so he comes over and takes it from her, equally, if not more, excited than she.

It made me wonder, when do we understand the value of money. My little sister and brother obviously knew that this small piece of paper had importance, but how, and do they really understand it? And if they do understand it, is that not just the tiniest bit sad to watch a small child become so enthused about the acquisition of money? There’s generally two views on monetary value. One is I want it, all of it, any of it I can get. The other view being more of a minimalist perspective; I just need enough to get by. One could argue which view a child should have, but I think as a society, we have all agreed that money isn’t everything, or at least shouldn’t be. Wether or not we act on this belief differs largely. But if we all want the best for our children, should we not then want them to be happy? Should we not be teaching them that happiness isn’t measured in possessions, wealth, or dollars? That if you always want more, you’ll never appreciate what you already have? That love makes you happy, and all those other cliches. I know this may be a big assumption, but you’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t agree with those beliefs, or at least want to believe them. So the question then becomes how do we instill these values into our children. How do we teach them that the value of a dollar is really no value at all?

peace