Learning the Differences Between Wants and Needs
This activity will help kids understand why we should spend money on what we truly need before all else.
Articles within this series
- Overview
- Statistics
- Advertising Sources
- Marketing Strategies
- Tips for Parents
- Handling Advertising's Impact on Kids
- What to Expect with Teens
- Raising Teens to Be Savvy, Secure Consumers
- Teaching Kids to Be Content with What They Have
- Learning the Differences Between Wants and Needs
- Next Steps / Related Information
Help your children learn the difference between wants and needs.
Supplies: You’ll need paper, pencils, glasses of drinking water and a soft drink.
Activity: Place one glass of cold water on the table for each family member. In the center of the table, place a glass filled with a favorite soft drink. Ask family members to act out what life would be like if they didn’t have soft drinks (then go pour the drinks into the sink). If your family enjoys frequent or even an occasional soft drink, responses could range from “oh, well” to panic.
Now have the family act out what life would be like without water — or any liquid that has water in it. Responses could range from clutching at the throat to falling on the floor in mock death.
Bring everyone back to “life” with a drink of water. Then discuss these questions:
- What is the difference between water and a soft drink?
- If you had to choose between unlimited glasses of water for a week or one six-pack of a favorite soda, which would you choose and why?
Share: We can survive without soft drinks because our bodies don’t need them to keep us alive. But if we didn’t have water, we could not survive. This illustrates the difference between wants and needs. Let’s look at this difference another way.
Give each family member a sheet of paper and a pencil. Have each person draw or list all the things they touch or use in a typical day. Help children circle the items on their lists that are needs. For example, someone might circle an item of clothing because it is necessary for our society. Keep in mind that what some may consider a “need,” others could think of as a luxury.
Now ask:
- If you had a limited amount of money to spend, and you owned nothing, which things on your list would you buy first?
- What does this paper tell us about the way we spend our money?
Share: A wise spender doesn’t use all his money for “wants” before taking care of needs. To be wise spenders, we must first take care of the things that are most important, and then we can think about buying some of the things that are luxuries.