This
past week my oldest learned a very important lesson. A lesson I wanted him to
be sheltered from for much longer than he was. It was probably more difficult
on me than him, to be honest. But, nonetheless I had to tell him the truth. Not
all people are honest!
That
nearly broke my heart to tell him. I, probably like most parents, want my kids
to keep their childlike faith and innocence as long as possible. And this week…that was lost. At
least in part.
You
see, this past Sunday my son traded some toys for the “bucks” they earn at
Church. He, and the other kids, work hard to earn these “bucks” by being on
time to class, saying their memory verses and having good behavior. They have a
“store” in place for the kids to “buy” toys, candy and other items with their
hard-earned “bucks.” This, I don’t have a problem with. In fact, I’m thinking
of instilling this philosophy at our house. Another story for another day…
He
got in the van after church and was so proud of his new toys. He was showing
them to us all the way to lunch. It wasn’t until later that I found out he
traded two other kids for these items rather than purchasing them from the
store. That really got me thinking…what if he’d been cheated? I asked him how much he
paid for these particular items and
was appalled at his answer!
He
paid 25 Kid Bucks for the motorcycle, 5 Kid Bucks that squishy, rubber light-up
thing (which has fuzz ALL over it) and 5 Kid
Bucks for the 2 Pokemon cards. WHAT?! He said he had used all but his ones to
pay for these items. Oh. MY. WORD!!
So,
I calmly sat him down and explained to him why he could never do that again. I told him the store was there for a reason
and that was the only place he could purchase things from now on. Otherwise, I would
have to keep all his Kid Bucks and be with him when he bought stuff. He looked
surprised and could not understand why I would say such things.
And
then it happened…I had to shatter his innocence. You see, my son is a very trusting and
honest child. To a fault sometimes. He never thinks anyone would cheat on him
(although, we’ve had this discussion when playing games before). He doesn’t
think anyone would ever lie to him. He’s just very trusting. That’s when I had
to tell him that not everyone is. Now, I clarified everything by saying I
didn’t know if his friends had cheated him or not and I was not accusing them
of doing so. I simply wanted him to understand Mom and Dad’s rules for using
his Kid Bucks.
I
told him that some not-so-nice kids would/could bring toys from home and ask
other kids to trade their Kid Bucks for their toy from home - at a waaaay
inflated price. I also told him, that those same not-so-nice kids could/would
buy something from the store at a low price and then charge him a higher price
so they actually made Kid Buck money on his “trade.” And as for the Pokemon
cards…we
don’t even allow those in our house. So they are going back. (I’m still not
sure why he traded for those, since he knows they’re not allowed.)
Now,
I am probably like most parents and hate to even think children are capable of such things, but it does happen. So, now the rule is no trading for
items. No Matter What!! He can only purchase items from the store. And, if that
doesn’t work…we’ll be in charge of his Kid Bucks from then on.
I
think this lesson was so much harder on me than it was him. He was still happy
with what he got out of the deal. And I was devastated about crushing his
childlike faith and innocence. Then, I thought how our Heavenly Father must
have felt that day in the Garden when he appeared to Adam and Eve after they
had eaten the fruit. Their innocence stripped away with the bite of one piece
of fruit. How heart-wrenching that must have been for Him. His sweet, perfect
children would now forever know the evil that roamed the earth outside the
Garden. And thus it began.
I
realize we will never live in a perfect world here on this earth, but I would
have liked my son to be sheltered from the evil just a while longer.
What
has been the toughest lesson for you to teach your child(ren)? How did it
affect you as the parent? How did it affect them? Feel free to link to a post
you’ve written on this or just comment below.
Blessings,
Annette
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