5 Lessons Kids Can Learn About Money While at Disney

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The other day, the Goof and I had a conversation. “Mama, Does Disneyland cost money?” he asked.
“Yes, it does.”
“Does it cost one money or two monies?”
If only he knew how much Disney really cost. While I don’t think my pre-schooler, or most kids, need a hard and fast reality check on how much Disney costs, I do believe that Disney is a great teaching tool for a lot of things, including money.
In the past, we have taken kids of all ages. In some cases we have not asked them to pitch in any money, and other times, we have asked them to pitch in for their ticket, or at least their spending money.

I think there are lessons in everything we do, and Disney is not exempt from that. Here are some ways to teach your kids about money while enjoying a Disney vacation.

Teach Them About Earning Money

If your kids know about a trip to Disney ahead of time this is the perfect time to teach them that earning money means working for it. I am not huge on allowances (not against, just neither Disney Daddy or I had them growing up so we don’t feel they are necessary), but even if you give your kids an allowance, this is still a great time to teach them about earning money. With our niece and nephew, we made a chore bucket for their visit to our home prior to a Disneyland trip we were taking them on. They had chores (like making their beds, laundry, etc) that was not part of the chore bucket, and they didn’t get any money for it. The chore bucket was extra chores and each chore had a monetary amount attached to it. We didn’t over pay either. Most chores were worth 50 cents to one dollar.

Teach Them About The Cost of Goods

When you go to Disney, you will be bombarded with gift shops and merchandise from every direction. Kids usually want it all. This is a great opportunity to teach kids about the cost of goods. Give your kids a budget one day that they may spend however they want. Help them realize that some items are more expensive then other items. Show them you could get 2 of _____ for the same price as 1 _____. Or show them how a similar item at Target (by pulling it up on your smartphone) is $____ cheaper.
Remember, the ultimate decision is up to them, but you are there to show them that different items cost different amounts and they must decide how to use their money. Guess what, this is a mini-economics lesson.

Teach Them About Savings Accounts

Give your child a set amount of money on the first day. Hold on to it for them. Tell them they can spend it anytime they want. The catch, each additional day they wait to take out the money and spend it, add a dollar to the amount of money they have. Use this as an example to teach them about savings accounts, earning interest on their savings, and how leaving money in savings will earn you more money over time. At the end of the trip, it is up to the child if they would like to spend the money, or save it for something else.

Teach Them About Giving To Others

Give your children money and have them buy for each other. Or, you can give them $10 Disney Dollars and have them give them to children in the park that they think need it more than they do. This is a great idea if you like to make magical moments for others in the park. Be sure that after they give away the Disney Dollars that they receive a souvenir or their own spending money so they don’t feel left out. If you believe in paying tithing, or if your family donates to a charity, this is a great lesson you can tie in with those topics.

Teach Them To Keep A Ledger

Older kids can be taught how to keep a ledger of how much money they have. Start them off with a set amount of money for spending. Either on a smartphone, notepad, or piece of paper, have them keep track of how much they have spent. To help with this lesson even more, mid-trip give them more money, a “deposit”, for them to add in. If you are using your own debit card for their spending money, be sure you are keeping track as well. Once they use up all of their funds they are broke.
A gift card is also a great way to do this. They will have to keep track of how much money is remaining on their gift card, just like we have to keep track of our accounts with a debit card.

These are not elaborate, detailed, school-worthy lesson plans, but they are small ways you can use your Disney vacation to help teach your children about money in a way they can understand. Do you use Disney to teach your children lessons about things like money, history, or anything else? I would love to hear what kind of lessons you teach at Disney.

Now, the lessons I posted today are not from a homeschooling parent. While I hope to homeschool, these are just lessons that popped in my head after the conversation with The Goof and while doing my economics homework (I am a full time student). If you would like to see some posts from parents of school age kids, who do homeschool while at Disney, please check out our friend Jodi at Magical Mouse Schoolhouse. I really enjoy her post on converting US currency to foreign currency.

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Comments

Amy Zellers says

March 4, 2014 at

Great post! My son, Gavin, does save for our Disney trips already. However, we haven’t recorded it our shown “earning interest” or donating. Gavin is in 1st grade and doing very well with math. I plan on using all of these ideas for our September trip! How exciting! Great ideas.
- Becca Robins says
  
  March 4, 2014 at
  
  Thank you Amy!
  Obviously, my little guy is a bit young for some of these lessons at only 3, but we take our niece and nephew a lot and like to do these things with them. We do help The Goof (my toddler) realize the difference in the cost of goods though.
  Hope you have a great trip in September! Great time of year to go.

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