DD says she wants a nicer house

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would give a little economics lesson since she is missing several factors about "nice" and "affordable."

AShe should know that all that glitters is not gold; that vintage things tend to have greater value than newer cheaply made items; that many factors go into decisions about want is personally valuable; that many factors go into pricing a home that have little to do with what it looks like, etc.

You do not need to discuss your personal income or net worth, and you should teach your child not to as well. But a basic understanding is important because when your child doesn't get it, they may make comments or complaints that make them look like a clueless rich kid.

Imo it’s fine to teach her these things but not in the context of comparing her home to a friend’s home. I would not want to give my child the impression that our home is inherently better than a friends home because her friend’s is newer or bigger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We talk about envy and jealousy with our DD8. And it comes up multiple times a year. I explain that everyone has these feelings sometimes, and even adults struggle with the green-eyed monster.

We talk about how some people have a bigger house than us, and some people have a smaller house than us. Some have more money, some have less. And we talk about how it feels to be jealous and what we can do when those feelings happen.

I don’t think it’s helpful to say things like “we could afford that house but we choose not to.” That makes it sound like your pride has been a bit wounded and you’re justifying your life choices to your child.

I would acknowledge any jealous feelings and talk about them instead. If dcum shows us anything, it’s that how to deal with jealousy is a life lesson that many of us are still learning.

I was skimming this and somehow my brain read "I explain that even houses have feelings sometimes" and I thought huh, well OP could tell her child that what she said hurt the house's feelings and maybe that would solve the problem?