Saying "No" is Yes, Yes, Yes!

Build character, don't buy stuff. If we want our children to mature into responsible adults, we need to stop buying them so much stuff. We've all heard it a million times, "When I was your age all I had to play with was _______ (dirt, air, broken stick, etc.)" I know as a kid my brother and I had WAY fewer toys and games and stuff than our kids do (and i think we do a pretty good job or saying "no"). One thing is there are so many choices out there and not only choices in types of games, but choices within the choices.

2 points: First, as a parent, don't feel you have to get them everything they want. For my wife and I, nearly every time we say to no to this or that, they forget it in less than a week. 90% of problems solved, get better at saying no. Now I won't go into all the behavior and conditioning mumbo-jumbo, but trust me saying no to your kids is FINE. In fact, it's healthier than saying yes.

Second point is: typically, children need less to be creative, not more. Perfect example is on our trips to Africa. Kids there take discarded plastic bags wrap them up in balls and bind them with string or cording. Or they take a small piece of broken pipe and use a bent piece of sugar cane to "guide it as they run along side. I call it run-n-roll. They also (and this was amazing) take small pieces of wire they find and make cars and trucks by bending the metal into the outline of a 3D vehicle - some complete with trunks, wheels and detailing. They connect their vehicles onto a straight wire back to their hands and "drive" them all around - extremely creative. The third photo down shows three such vehicles.

And you talk about a happy, smiling, proud bunch of kids. They smiled ear to ear when showing off their toys. The toys they had created from nothing. May God give us the wisdom and strength to say "no" to stuff.