Oh Raisin, I have a five year old too and yes we are also trying to teach her about budgeting, however, she is also on the autism spectrum and advertising does not appear to have the same impact on her as my youngest daughter.
Mandipa, that is great point about children wanting to feel as though they have been considered. My youngest daughter loves to receive hand me downs from an older friend, her perception appears to be 'of all the girls in the world you have chosen to give this to me'. I also agree that this type of experiment requires infrastructure to succeed.
Claudia, that is fascinating. I do think it easy to use technology to babysit ones children but also see the need for children to have an understanding of the said technology from an early age. My children do not have a TV in their room, an ipod or an ipad but I do encourage limited and supervised use of the computer. I imagine finding the right balance will become much harder in the future.
Astrid, reusable nappies have come along way although you also need to factor in the additional laundry costs. http://www.google.co.uk/search.....38;bih=559 When someone is ready to have a child is very subjective and finances are only one of many, many factors to consider.
Scarlet, I actually found those first few months with Teah very isolating, I found it much easier once she was old enough to attend a mother and toddler play session (about six months), there are a lot of competitive parents who will brag of their child being potty trained at 18 months, of always sleeping through night and eating anything which is offered but the majority know that raising a child is hard and offer support and compassion when needed. It is horrible to feel judged but guilt and motherhood appear to go hand in hand in this post modern age. I think we all need to be kinder to ourselves.
