With my younger kids, I’m pretty good about recognizing the desire without caving into it. I’ll usually say “Wow, looks cool! we can put that on your birthday list”. So far it hasn’t backfired, because by the time their birthdays roll around, they only really want whatever’s freshest in their minds, and they know we keep birthdays pretty low-key anyway.

But with my bigger kids (10 & 12) I’m not so good about empathizing with their desires. Maybe it’s because the stuff bigger kids want is so expensive, and my initial reaction to that request for a $300 gadget is usually “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” But you know, my boys aren’t greedy or spoiled, and I need to be more careful about the way I answer…even if the answer is still “no.” Thanks for the food for thought.