The Frugal Family: Preventing Kids Toys from Busting Your Budget

For the first two years of his life, I managed to keep my son cloistered in a wonderful television-free bubble. One rainy, frustrating day changed that and suddenly Jack was a diehard fan of Curious George. Thankfully PBS focuses on educational programming, so I could get a break and my son could be entertained while also learning something new.

Then came that morning when I was parenting solo and desperately needed to get just 30 minutes more sleep. I turned on the television only to find that PBS was in full pledge drive mode. I experienced a moment of panic as I stared at the screen and cursed every person in charge of the Public Broadcasting System in my head. (I admit, their plan is genius--sleep deprivation will open my wallet faster than anything!) As I flipped past commercials to search for Saturday morning cartoons, it dawned on me that it wouldn't be long before my son would be begging for the next big thing in toys.

In a miraculous moment of parenting wisdom, I had previously invested in a set of Curious George DVDs for my son's watching pleasure. I slid a disc into the DVD player and I was snoozing five minutes later, free of worry that my son's next tantrum would involve some outrageously expensive item the TV told him he needed. Furthermore, the part of me that kept my son ignorant of television for so long didn't have to stress about commercialization or branding or that haunting purple dinosaur.

I feel my bank account growing every time my son watches a pre-recorded program instead of "live" television. My son has no clue what a Zhu Zhu pet is and that's exactly how I like it. Putting a bit of money into building a library of DVDs or subscribing to services like Netflix is completely worth it to me.

Have you noticed the influence of commercials on your household's desires? What strategies do you use to avoid dumping money into an already overflowing toy box?

Crystal Ritchie lives and blogs in San Francisco with her preschooler son Jack and her partner in crime/fiance David. She loves to share stories, tips, and tricks related to the parenting gig. When she is not parenting, writing as the San Francisco City Guide Editor for Savvy Source and on her personal blog, Ewokmama.com, or scoping out awesome deals, she can be found working at a software company in her favorite city.