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Does your great-uncle usually give your youngest a ticket during the end-of-year celebrations? If the approach is generous, be careful to carefully supervise this donation of money.
To buy your future guitar, your Legos or the latest Playstation: financial donations always please children, provided they are old enough to raise awareness. Certain points must also be checked before offering money as a gift.
An approach that has advantages and disadvantages
For Vincent Joly, psychologist and psychotherapist interviewed by The women’s newspapergiving money or a check to a child as a Christmas gift has advantages and disadvantages.
“Children are overwhelmed by the amount of gifts they receive and often cannot name them all. For this reason, it is not so crazy to give money to a child.”he reveals, in the preamble.
However, with this approach, we lose in particular “this symbolic dimension of the gift and the idea that we have thought of the other, of what could please them, there is something less materialistic in money.
Ask parents’ opinions
Another clarification from the psychologist, which seems simplistic, but which nevertheless turns out to be fundamental: before offering a few coins to the youngest, always have the reflex to ask the parents’ opinion.
“You have to be careful and know beforehand if the child’s parents agree to offer this type of gift. Because it can be a bit annoying to give money to children when their parents will see it as a very materialistic gesture.“, details Vincent Joly.
The right attitude to have? Write a short note to the child to explain the reasons for this choice. For example “We’re offering you this money so you can afford the guitar you’ve always dreamed of…“.
Another important detail: guiding the child on how to spend.
The psychologist explains that “you can take your child into a project, for example, ask him what he wants to do with this money, show him what he can have, this automatically shifts towards a more educational dimension. The child becomes a little more aware of the value of money.”
What is the ideal amount of money to give to a child?
According to the expert, this amount is variable.
“The value of the gift depends greatly on the families and their income, as well as their budget allocated for Christmas.he explains.
Several factors are taken into account such as: the social environment, the family context (separation or not), etc. The whole point is to be consistent with the child and what he has received in the past.
Slide: Christmas 2023: our selection of toys for less than 20 euros