A New alternative for letting kids carry money around the parks.... About This Page:

[jagafen]

I have a confession, I on occassion (but not daily like I do here) visit another Disney Board. I was there this morning (after I read/posted here), and someone wanted advice on making their own disney dollars. I got a flash of brillance (not uncommon for me..LOL!) and decided to see if I could google images of Disney Dollars. I want my son to be able to safely carry his own money, and don't want to give him real dollars...I had considered a gift card, but it's hard to understand a "budget" when all you do is swipe a card. I wanted a concrete representation for him each day of how much money he had to spend...and if he loses them....no biggie! And Viola!! Counterfeit Disney Dollars.....The images are of older versions, but they will do! I have $1, $5, and $10 denominations, sized the same as the "real ones". Of course, I had to share with my passporter friends.....hope they come in handy!

Attachment 18557

[DISNEY03]

Thank you for the idea! Too bad my computer can't make the fake money but it was a good idea, thanks again.
BTW: I forgive you if you hadn't checked out somewhere else, you couldn't have shared this great idea, I know where your heart really lives!!!

[WillCAD]

I think you're making a mistake.

You are trying to teach your son about the real value of money - how can you do that if you give him fake money that he can't spend, and carries no consequence when it's lost? He's still getting the message that all he needs to do for money is come to you and ask for it.

The best way for him to learn the true value of money is to let him carry the real thing (in this case, real Disney Dollars). If he loses it, he will learn a valuable but hard lesson in a way that will never leave him. If you're worried about him losing all his money, then limit the amount he can carry at any given time to a set daily amount.

Limiting him to a daily budget will also encourage himm to think in broader terms; if he wants to buy something that costs more than one day's allowance, he will have to learn how to economise and save up toward it - one of the most valuable monetary lessons a person can ever learn.

You've also got the problem of a serious copyright infringement. If you're going to give him some kind of voucher that he has to hand over to you to get money, don't make them copies of the real Disney Dollars; those "older versions" you used are still good, just like old US money (Disney Dollars never expire, and it's quite common to see DD$ from 5 years ago still in circulation) If your son mistakenly tries to buy something with one of them, you run the risk of being ejected from the park for trying to pass off counterfeit Disney Dollars, or perhaps even arrested.

I advise you to re-think your plan. But whatever you do, DO NOT try to reproduce any kind of Disney Dollars.

[Lisa Renninger]

I think WillCAD makes some valid points. My sons have been saving money all year for our this New Year's. Can I buy them a Disney card here in Chicago at the Disney store that will be valid at WDW?

[bradk]

i've heard of the idea before, only usually i hear monopoly money

you can pretty much buy play money anywhere as a toy. you can even buy refill sets of just the monopoly money.

[Lemap760]

I agree with WillCAD.

What I did with DS was let him have a "special" place in my wallet just for his money. That way he knew it was his money and that I was just the "bank". When the bank is empty then it's empty.

[jagafen]

Originally Posted by WillCAD

I think you're making a mistake.

You are trying to teach your son about the real value of money - how can you do that if you give him fake money that he can't spend, and carries no consequence when it's lost? He's still getting the message that all he needs to do for money is come to you and ask for it.

The best way for him to learn the true value of money is to let him carry the real thing (in this case, real Disney Dollars). If he loses it, he will learn a valuable but hard lesson in a way that will never leave him. If you're worried about him losing all his money, then limit the amount he can carry at any given time to a set daily amount.

Limiting him to a daily budget will also encourage himm to think in broader terms; if he wants to buy something that costs more than one day's allowance, he will have to learn how to economise and save up toward it - one of the most valuable monetary lessons a person can ever learn.

You've also got the problem of a serious copyright infringement. If you're going to give him some kind of voucher that he has to hand over to you to get money, don't make them copies of the real Disney Dollars; those "older versions" you used are still good, just like old US money (Disney Dollars never expire, and it's quite common to see DD$ from 5 years ago still in circulation) If your son mistakenly tries to buy something with one of them, you run the risk of being ejected from the park for trying to pass off counterfeit Disney Dollars, or perhaps even arrested.

I advise you to re-think your plan. But whatever you do, DO NOT try to reproduce any kind of Disney Dollars.

I'm not sure if you understand my whole point...I know old Disney dollars are good...forever....I found these images on Google images...I just could have as easily scanned in the dollars we already have. My son is young (under 6) and doesn't really have a concrete concept of money. He isn't capable of making a purchase by himself. We're working on that in an age appropriate manner with him. But he still likes to pay for his purchases..... this will give him practice with counting and buying things (paying mom and dad out of his Disney Dollar allowance with an equal representation that he is already collecting for our trip). I, as a parent, do not expect my young son to be responsible for any amount of money...that's why adults pay bills, not kids. The point of this exercise for him is to have a visual representation of his allowance for the day, without me having to stress over him losing it, and to introduce him to a concrete concept with a relatively risk free medium. If we had play money, I would have used that. But we don't so I had to come up with something else. The point of this exercise is not to have him crying when he loses all his money because we set our expectations for money management above his age and skill level. I can understand you not knowing how old my son is, but I was trying to share what I thought was a different spin on the "what do we do with our kids' money when we're in the parks" issue...this is an idea for parents of younger children....Obviously, I would not give a child capable of making a purchase indpendently "counterfeit" money to carry around...that child would be old enough to carry smaller amounts of money if appropriate. This is an exercise for a younger child. I appreciate your input, but think the chastisement is a bit on the harsh side.

[WillCAD]

Originally Posted by jagafen

I'm not sure if you understand my whole point...I know old Disney dollars are good...forever....I found these images on Google images...I just could have as easily scanned in the dollars we already have. My son is young (under 6) and doesn't really have a concrete concept of money. He isn't capable of making a purchase by himself. We're working on that in an age appropriate manner with him. But he still likes to pay for his purchases..... this will give him practice with counting and buying things (paying mom and dad out of his Disney Dollar allowance with an equal representation that he is already collecting for our trip). I, as a parent, do not expect my young son to be responsible for any amount of money...that's why adults pay bills, not kids. The point of this exercise for him is to have a visual representation of his allowance for the day, without me having to stress over him losing it, and to introduce him to a concrete concept with a relatively risk free medium. If we had play money, I would have used that. But we don't so I had to come up with something else. The point of this exercise is not to have him crying when he loses all his money because we set our expectations for money management above his age and skill level. I can understand you not knowing how old my son is, but I was trying to share what I thought was a different spin on the "what do we do with our kids' money when we're in the parks" issue...this is an idea for parents of younger children....Obviously, I would not give a child capable of making a purchase indpendently "counterfeit" money to carry around...that child would be old enough to carry smaller amounts of money if appropriate. This is an exercise for a younger child. I appreciate your input, but think the chastisement is a bit on the harsh side.

It was not my intention to be harsh or to chastise, and I did get your point about what you want to do, even if I didn't get your son's age.

I understand your wish not to give a six year old real money; he's not old enough or responsible enough to handle real money yet and will almost certainly lose it.

I understand that you want to give him some experience at counting and handling money, without the risk that he will lose it. But that's a bit of a stretch for most six year olds; most of those I have known aren't capable of the level of abstract thinking needed to compare bits of colored paper and coins to the goods or services those objects can purchase. Can he even count to one hundred yet? If not, then how can he know that 100 cents equals one dollar?

I think there are better ways to teach a six year old the value of real money than to give them copies of Disney Dollars that they can't spend for real, with no consequenses if they are lost, and tell them to give them back to Mom and Dad when they want to buy something instead of spending themselves.

In my experience, children don't learn the abstract concept of the value of money without A) earning real money themselves (showing them that a certain amount of work equals a certain amount of money), and B) spending their own money (showing them that a certain amount of money will purchase certain things that they want). Handling play money of any type has no meaning for kids, because they know it's only play money and has no value; in fact, they don't even know the value of real money until they learn it by earning it and subsequently exchanging it for something they want.

In my experience, play money's greatest value as a teaching tool is in the area of teaching kids how to count, how to add money, and how to make change, not in the area of teaching them the value and significance of real money.

[Shell_of_the_South]

Jen, I completely understand what you're doing with your son, and I think it's a good idea. Teaching him that he has a set amount to spend, and when it's gone, it's gone. When my 3 kids were younger, each child had an envelope with money that I carried. When they wanted to buy something, I took the money out of their envelope so they could see how much money they had left. It's so important to teach our kids the concept of money - my teenagers have friends who have no concept that money runs out!

I also understand Will's concern about counterfeit money. Maybe you could print the pictures of the money in a smaller size than the real money, or print it in black and white and let him color the bills himself. Then there wouldn't be a problem with someone thinking you had printed out fake Disney dollars with the intent to spend them.

Good luck! I think this can be a great teaching tool and fun at the same time!

[DrDolphin]

When I took my 3.5 year old niece and 5 year old nephew to WDW - they had a special envelope that I carried in my backpack - in a special pocket (it was the only thing there). Each morning - we would count the money in the envelope and add the daily amount that was allocated for the trip. When either DN3.5 or DN5 wanted to buy something - we would get out the envelope and take a moment for a math lesson to see if they had enough - if so and they still wanted the item - we would count it out, they would purchase the item and get the change and then put the change back in the envelope. We would also put the receipt in the envelope.

I should say that both of them made the purchases themselves - interacting with the CMs as practice to understand about spending and money exchange. They knew the numbers - but this helped link the numbers to the cost....

[eff051102]

Originally Posted by DrDolphin

When I took my 3.5 year old niece and 5 year old nephew to WDW - they had a special envelope that I carried in my backpack - in a special pocket (it was the only thing there). Each morning - we would count the money in the envelope and add the daily amount that was allocated for the trip. When either DN3.5 or DN5 wanted to buy something - we would get out the envelope and take a moment for a math lesson to see if they had enough - if so and they still wanted the item - we would count it out, they would purchase the item and get the change and then put the change back in the envelope. We would also put the receipt in the envelope.

I should say that both of them made the purchases themselves - interacting with the CMs as practice to understand about spending and money exchange. They knew the numbers - but this helped link the numbers to the cost....

We did something like this with our 10 yo foster daughter when we went to DL. She was given $125.00 (allowance, birthday money, money from mom) and that was all she had to spend on stuff she wanted minus food and drink. Everyday we counted what she had left, and when she wanted to make a purchase, she got her money out of the envelope, and paid for it herself. Now she ran out of money on the next to the last day, was very sad and mad, but she understood that she made the choices for the items and then had to live with no money left.

As a side learning experience, she found $2.00 on the ground behind some people who were looking through a bag. She brought it to me, and we both gave it back to them. They said thank you and she felt really good about that. Before her time with us, she would have just pocketed the money and laughed at the other people for not keeping their money.

[Geri Alexander]

I think your idea is a great one--especially to help learn the values of money (yes, I mean values, not value). Your child can learn what ones, fives, and tens are and how many of those little pieces of paper you have to have to buy an item. And since you probably aren't going to let a six year old run around the parks and shops solo, I think he'll be okay with the counterfeit money in his pocket. And if you're worried about that, print the images in black and white. Thanks for sharing!

[Dale_Loves_Mickey]

Guys, Aside from the counterfit thing, thanks for the images. I wanted some so I could put them in my scrapbook with pictures of the girls shopping on our last trip. These should work great!

[Lemap760]

Is there an opportunity before your Disney trip where you can try out your idea? Maybe if you have more holiday shopping to do or take your son to a couple of yard sales (I'm not sure when your trip is). This would give him some practice with your lesson and you can see how well it goes.

[PamelaK]

Originally Posted by Lisa Renninger

I think WillCAD makes some valid points. My sons have been saving money all year for our this New Year's. Can I buy them a Disney card here in Chicago at the Disney store that will be valid at WDW?

Yes, you can buy a Disney card at the Disney stores and use it at WDW. I did that with my DD and myself. (I bought a card for myself to help me save money for my own souvenirs.) Every month I would add a bit more money to our cards and then when we got to Disney we had over $100 each to spend on our souvenirs.

We also had a little cash that we would use at the airports for snacks or for a small souvenir. DD was very good about keeping track of how much she spent and keeping all her receipts. I did keep her wallet with her card and cash in my backpack, mostly because she didn't have any pockets.