I’ve been having Kathrynne, our three-year-old, help with clipping coupons in the last few months and she’s getting quite adept at it. There’s only one problem: she thinks so long as we have a coupon for something, we can buy it. So as she’s cutting out the coupons, she’ll excitedly point to the granola bar coupon she’s clipping and exclaim, "Yesss!! We get to buy granola bars this week!"
Last week, she snagged the grocery sale fliers before I had a chance to see them. I found her in the kitchen studiously pouring over them (Hmm, I wonder where she learned to do that from?) and when she saw me she let out a little whoop and holler, "M&M are on a good deal this week, Mommy!"
Sure enough, they were advertised in the flier and in her mind that meant that of course we could then buy them. I’m glad she’s learning all about looking for sales in the flier and clipping coupons, but I’m afraid she has a little ways to go in learning what constitutes a "good deal". Oh well, she’s only three so hopefully she’ll get the hang of it eventually!
How great for you! My 4 yo nephew loves to help grandma and Aunt Ashley cut coupons. He sits on my lap with his little safety scissors and I point out which ones I want. He hasn’t made the connection yet between the little colored pictures and grocery shopping yet! I don’t get to see him too often, but every time I pull out one of those crooked little rectangles, I think of him. I hope he’ll have fond memories of helping grandma and his aunt cut coupons, just like I do. Yay for coupons and family time!
I loved all these stories.
I recently moved my coupons from a small expandable folder thingy to a 3-ring binder. My daughter, 4, found the old folder and said “oh no, where’d the your coupons go? Why did you take them all out?”
I think we’re raising some future coupon queens in our house too. Just the other day as we were driving past Walgreens, my two year old points to it and shouts out, “There it is! Shopping! Let’s go shopping!” lol
I also happen to have a 10 month old daughter who loves to eat my coupons. lol
There’s just something charming about little homemakers-in-the-making. Tell Kathryn she has another soul-mate up north; our 3-year-old is forever collecting the coupons I discard, snipping here and there, looking for good deals… I’ll be sure to tell her to keep an eye open for Kathryn’s possible “money saving mom-to-be” posts in the future. 😉
My 5yr old DS is hooked on coupons! Every morning when I get up he’s sitting on the lounge or at his table, cutting coupons and putting them in his “stash.” This morning he had his CVS fliers spread out on the dining room table, he was “sorting” them like I do before I start clipping. He LOVES going to CVS with me, printing the coupons from the coupon machine at the store and helping me – and it’s a race every Sunday morning to see who gets to the paper first! I believe good money habits start early, and he’s well on his way!
I love it! My big plans for the future is to have my daughter clip the coupons and whatever we save, she will either get all of it as her allowance or a certain percentage – depending on how well we are doing. It will help with so many skills – math, reading, organizing, saving, keeping mommy happy, etc!
That’s so cool! She sounds like a great helper and saver!
I totally know what you mean. A couple of weeks ago–as I was eagerly flipping thru the coupons on Sunday afternoon—my 5 year old looked at her Daddy and rolled her eyes and said “Mommy sure does love gettin’ those coupons!”
Oh my goodness! That is the cutest story ever! I love that she is already learning to be frugal and mindful of her spending and buying!
Kathrynne is so cute and such a smart girl! What a blessing that she learned this at such a young age!
Now that’s really cute!
That is adorable! She is learning to be a smart shopper just like her mommy!
I’ve got my older daughter hooked on garage sales – basically she knows she can buy toys for less than a dollar! She hasn’t gotten into the coupon thing yet…
Great story…my sweet husband seems to think the same thing! He sees an ad in the CVS flier and automatically assumes we can get it for free! 🙂
That’s great that she gets into it – she’s going to be so on top of the coupon-ing in the years to come! I’m sure it would make sense to her that of course you’d buy something if there’s a coupon for it! 🙂
My kids are getting excited about the coupons, too. My daughter couldn’t believe how much money we saved the other day at CVS – but they, too, have Kathrynnitis thinking as long as we have a coupon we can buy it. We still have a little more training to do at our house! But it’s so fun I don’t mind the extra instruction. I LOVE a good deal!
I remember going to the store as a young girl with my mom. I’d ask to buy a certain kind of yogurt and she’d say, “no, that one’s not on sale.” One day I finally asked her, “why do they put things out on the shelf, if they’re not for sale?”
I love seeing that your daughter is learning about saving, even if it is for M&M’s.
My brother (who introduced me to couponing) has his two children help every weekend with clipping coupons. Those two kids know more about saving now then I do! haha
Oh these comments made me laugh! My boys take notice of the Chuck E. Cheese coupons, which of course are a much more spendy endeavor than a package of M&M’s! (And a LOT less likely to be used.)
That is very sweet Crystal. I have a little Katelyn also.
She is two years old and loves coupons. Any thing that I receive in the mail she eagerly brings to me and says mommy look coupons! She is so adorable. I hope that you move is going well. God Bless, Kathy @ In My Mothers Garden
That is very sweet Crystal. I have a little Katelyn also.
She is two years old and loves coupons. Any thing that I receive in the mail she eagerly brings to me and says mommy look coupons! She is so adorable. I hope that your move is going well. God Bless, Kathy @ In My Mothers Garden
My daughter likes to circle things in the ads now. She will circle an item, then ask me if we have any coupons for it. Today, she told me there was a coupon for ‘thirteen-seven dollars off tea’. (It was $1 off celestial seasonings tea, but it was SO cute!) She’s almost three years old, and already really aware that we can use sales and coupons to make our money stretch! 🙂
That is too cute!
My 4 year old daughter likes when I give her coupons. (I give her expired ones) She keeps them in a little purse that she carries around. It’s hilarious!
That’s funny! AND a great idea! You’ve inspired me to enlist my daughter in my coupon clipping. She would love it! Thanks for sharing!
Too cute! I’m sure she’s learned lots of good stuff from her momma!!! 🙂
My three year old isn’t trusted with scissors yet (a little incident at preschool with a brand-new shirt comes to mind!), but he does know about coupons. If he finds something new in the bags as we put away the groceries, he’ll say “Mommy, did you get this with a coupon?”
Children are awesome and your smart little cookie is a great example. I love the story! With a mommy like you, I don’t think you have a thing to worry about for the future. (BTW…she’s cute!)
My little guy (also 3) now asks when he sees a toy that he wants – “is it on clearance mommy? ” When he sees small pieces of paper around, he immediately thinks that I dropped my coupon and makes sure to bring it right to me.
It certainly does not take long for them to get the gist!
The shrinks are going to have a blast with my kids!
They think that my life is coupons and Wal-mart.
The 3 yr old chirps, ” Let’s go to Wal-Mart, Mom!” and then the 2 yr old chimes right in with,” You have you coo-pins?”
At least they will be able to pay for their visits in cash! Ha!
That is WAY too cute!!! I hadn’t thought about having my girls help me clip coupons….hmmmm….I can probably work that into homeschooling somehow, right? A little cutting, a little math, a little sorting….sounds like a great idea! Now I’ll just have to let go of a little control…..because mine are young too.
I loved Becky’s comment about her elderly neighbor. That is SO sweet. She’s right, kids love to feel needed.
Thanks to you both, I think I’ll let go of some control and try this! 🙂
That is one of the sweetest things I’ve read in a long time. I hope that my little boy will be as into coupons when he gets a little older!
Sounds like my 4 year old. He looks at the ad with me and gets all excited about seeing all the sugary stuff in it! Even if it is not on sale, he thinks it is because it is in the ad. My kids are weird. They really enjoy looking at the food in the grocery ads. LOL!
How cute. I think it is important to keep talking to our kids about being frugal. My 11-year-old is one of the few who appreciates my deals. They learn young and hopefully keep it through adulthood.
OK- my son JUST gave me a “proud” moment like that a couple days ago. It was so cute. I have it on my blog. I linked directly to it, if you want to check it out. They can make us so proud!!!
http://8-muddyboots.blogspot.com/2008/10/train-your-children.html
Too funny! I “let” my kids help me cut coupons as well. It’s good for cutting skills, right?! 🙂 One of my 2-year-old son’s favorite words these days is “coupon.” I often wonder what my kids think about The Coupon Game, and how this might affect them later. Overall, I hope they learn to be frugal and understand that all we have comes from God.
That is ridiculously cute!! My kids have started asking me “Mom, do you have a coupon for that?” EVERY time I buy something.
That’s so cute! We had to go to the Family Christian Store the other day to pick up a gift for a friend. When I was explaining to my 4-year-old where we were going he said, “But why aren’t we going to that store that saves us money, mom?” He meant CVS!
I have two boys. As we drive by, my two-year-old now asks, “Mommy, Wa-geen?” My three-year-old will point out the sale or clearance tags and say, “Oh, Mommy, this one is on sale! We can buy it!” One day this sent another shopper into laughter. That is a good idea to practice scissor skills with coupon papers-thanks!
She’s 3 and she can use scissors already- wow!
Good for her and Good for you! What valuable lessons she is learning! Not only is she learning about “needs”, “wants”, “deals”, “saving”, but she’s also getting great fine motor skill practice of cutting, neat or not! What a blessing to have such a great little helper!
Erin
Just today my 26 mo. old daughter found my stash of expired coupons on the kitchen table, and as we were heading out the door to go to the grocery store, she said, Oh no Mommy, you forgot these coupons. It was pretty funny and my husband just rolled his eyes and told I had created a monster! I said yeah, a monster that saves money! 🙂
My 1 1/2 year old is a bargain shopper too. I gave her the choice of any blankie at Target (mostly $10-15) and she attached to and wouldn’t let go of one that was $3.99!
My five year old has asked me the past two weeks, so does Meijers have waffles on sale yet? Are there any coupons for them? She knows how I shop. My three year old son this summer told me, so if you’re at a garage sale and you see any cars or legos can you make sure you buy them. Little ones are so observant and I’m glad my mom taught me to shop smart when I was young also!
How cute, I remember when I was smaller I didn’t understand checks. My mom would say that something was too expensive and I would say…”can’t you just write a check”. Thankfully now, I understand.
Lol. She is so cute! I’m so excited that someone else’s little one is just as obsessed as Mommy 🙂 My 23 month old even knows that one Sun. we go to McDs and get inserts from the regulars and then go home before church to cut coupons. He hands me the sections and then “reads” the funnies on the way to church. His little aunts (4,6, and 7) have even noticed and if they find old magazines they collect the coupons to ask me if I need them…if I don’t they try to make their own binder on construction paper. One day I hope they learn not to paste them;)
My little three year tells me “Mom, I don’t have any money in my pockets. I have money in my piggy back…but it has to stay there huh? I can’t buy it because my money isn’t in my pockets.” I’m happy that my kids understand that if they don’t have the money to buy it then it means they don’t get it.
My daughter (2 and a half) is not good enough with her scissors yet to clip the real coupons, but I give her the parts I’m done with and let her go to town with her scissors. She loves to “sort” her coupons (including the expired ones I also give her) and saves them in her little purses.
Once we had just strapped her in her carseat when she thumped herself on the head and shouted, “OH NOOOOOOOO!!!! I forgot my COUPONS!!!!!!!”
Yes, little girls are very observant of their mommies. 🙂
That’s hilarious! What’s the problem? Granola and M&Ms, sounds likes a balanced meal to me 🙂
I remember many a happy times visiting with my neighbor (an elderly woman) when I was 5, and one of our favorite activities was clipping coupons.
She would just set me up at a table, hand me some scissors, and let me go! I’d clip every coupon (which I know now that she would sort through later) while she fed me lemonade and snacks and we “chatted”. I sure felt very important back then!! Little did I know that we were both helping each other…
Never too young to start!!!
That is such a cute story. Thank you for sharing! We lived pretty frugally when I was little, and I can remember asking for things and my mom telling we couldn’t afford it now. My response was always, “well, right a check.” I thought that since you had a checkbook it automatically meant you had money. Now that I am living frugally with my own little family I have learned a lot since those days!
She’s THREE?!?! Wow she’s smart!!!!
My daughter tells her AWANA classmates at church that her mommy is a really good cutter because I clip a lot of coupons all the time she says. She does get excited to know that we get something if it is in my coupon folder for the shopping trip. She even helps buy. She is really getting into the good deals at her age and likes to brag about them too.
I usually go through and make a mark next to the coupons that I want. Than my six year old son will cut the ones that I have marked. Last time he cut them out for me he was sneaky and put some in that I had not marked. Of course the ones he did that to were for things like pop tarts and candy. I guess he figured that I would not notice that he had put them in. He just figured that if I had a coupon I would buy it. 🙂
That is adorable! It’s amazing how much they can pick up at that age.
LOL! My Nutmeg, age 4, will ask me, “Mommy, if it is on sale, and if you have a coupon, could we buy x?” I’m happy (and amused) that she understands that both conditions must be present before I will even consider buying whatever it is.
I can remember being as young as 5, helping my mom cut out the coupons! Now, here I am 29 years old and still get just as excited to see the coupons on Sunday morning! (especially when there are multiple packets!!)
Kathrynne’s going to be such the shopper girl when she gets older!! Some man will be so lucky to have found such a “deal” when he marries her…thanks to your guidance and teaching!