What you are looking at is Katelyn's most recent obsession, as well as her motive for helping out around the house. After spotting this doll in a catalog, she's got her heart and mind set of saving up her money until she has enough to buy it herself.
"Honey, this doll costs $100," I said, pointing to the price.
"Well, then I will have to save up for a long time," she replied, determined.
I must say, this newest fixation is working to my advantage. Upon waking up each morning, Katelyn immediately makes her bed, puts her clothes away, empties the dishwasher, and inquires of any other chores she could do to earn some extra money. She is also thinking ahead and calculating the total of her weekly allowance for the next 6 months, as well as pinpointing other monumental days which she might be the recipient of some cash (Valentines? St. Patrick's Day? Easter? Birthday?)
She was elated at her payoff from the tooth fairy last week, after losing her very first tooth. Ka-Ching! I've noticed her wiggling furiously at the remaining teeth in her mouth, obviously hoping to quicken their removal so that she can cash them in and add to her savings.
While my boring adult brain is having difficulty with the concept of a doll whose clothing costs more than my own, it's nice to see Katelyn work for something she wants, and to be excited about earning something on her own. This girl is determined and she's darn good at saving money. She'll yank every last tooth out of her mouth if she has to, and scrub and polish for full allowance until she's got that hundred bucks in her piggy bank. In the mean time, my toilets have never been so sparkly.
I'm hoping that Jessica reads this post as we are headed to California this week and she wants to take the girls to "American Doll." She sees cute, I see ideas planted in little heads.
ReplyDeleteI am more than happy to give her some jobs. And I suspect I might pay better. Determination is a good quality, but I'm not so sure she would look good toothless.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I tried having Aiden earn a surprise (mostly to keep him out of my hair), but of course, as any 3 yr old would, he expected an immediate return for his efforts. I felt a bit jipped handing over a reward for an hour's worth of chores but didn't want to listen to him whine. Probably not terrific parenting on my part.
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