The Water Bottle Solution

So...you want to know what happened, right?  Well, here it is.  It didn't quite work out the way I planned, but I am not sure what I should have done differently.  (Besides go back for the water bottle in the first place, because the more I have thought about it, the more I think maybe I should have.)

Anyway, I liked all your answers.  Thanks for the feedback.  I really liked the idea of selling a toy to come up with the money.  I think that would have been the best solution to teach Sophia the cost.  I think her having to part with something would have left more of an impact.  The problem is that I don't think she has many toys that are worth $15 used.  We would have had to sell several things for a few dollars here and there.  And to be honest, I just wasn't willing to go through the work and the wait of posting them on Craig's List, hoping that someone would want her used babies to teach her a lesson.  If I could have thought of anything she owned that would have been worth the right amount in one shot, I think I would have done it.

So instead, I made her pay me back every penny.  I was determined to do it, no matter how long it took.  I loaned her the money so that I didn't have to wait four months for a new water bottle, but then we taped the receipt right next to her payday chart, and subtracted amounts every time she was able to pay me.  All of her savings and spending money were coming back to me until she could pay off her debt.

What I didn't take into account when I decided on this solution was that she had a birthday coming up.  Duh.  Which wouldn't normally factor in too much, because my kids generally don't really get money for gifts.  Until this year.  Guess how much she got for her birthday?  You got it, $15!!!  Come on, Mom, you could have just bought me a new water bottle!  :)

Not really sure that the lesson was driven home the way I intended, but what else can I do.  Lesson learned.  For both of us.  Or at least me!

Thanks for the input!