Teaching Kids Responsibility with Disney Gift Cards

Kids eyes light up at almost everything in Walt Disney World, but they especially get excited at the thought of bringing a treasure home from their great vacation.  Disney Gift Cards can be an excellent learning tool in teaching your kids responsibility, budgeting and how to make good choices.  Hand your child a Disney Gift Card on your next Disney vacation; they’ll be learning how to be responsible and not even know it!

Security.  Rather than letting your child carry around a small wad of cash (or even you carrying it for them), give them a Disney gift card to carry around.  Losing a Disney gift card is an annoyance, but as long as you have the card # from the back (take a picture or photocopy the back of each gift card), you can get the lost gift card “cancelled” and transfer the remaining balance over to a new card.  If your child loses their cash, they’re sadly out of luck.

Budgeting Tool.  Disney gift cards can hold $5 – $1000.  For starters, consider loading a Disney gift card with $5 to $25 for your child.  Let your child know their price limit, teaching them to budget.  If they purchase several things, tell them to keep track of their receipts so they can do the math and know how much money remains on their card.

TIP:  Have your child carry a small notebook and pencil around with them.  Tell them to write down which souvenirs they like and how much they cost.  Towards the end of the trip, they’ll likely have an idea of what they really want to buy as a souvenir – this will teach kids to budget and spend more carefully, eliminating a lot of needless souvenirs.

Etiquette.  Disney gift cards are accepted where ever credit cards are accepted on Disney Property – which is just about everywhere!  Your child can practice their social skills when ordering a snack at a refreshment stand, or say “Thank you” after a merchant has just processed their shopping transaction.

Reload if needed.  Disney gift cards can be reloaded.  If your child is eyeing something really special and you know they’re card is just $5 short, you can “help them out” and put a little bonus amount on there for them.

TIP:  If you want to make this a true “learning how to Budget” lesson, as hard as it may be, you may just have to tell them that they do not have enough money to purchase the item they’ve got their eye on and redirect them to the souvenirs that they can afford.  If a child learns now that they can’t spend beyond their means, they’ll be ahead of the game financially later on in life!

Perks & Rewards for You!  Even though the gift card may be meant for your child to spend, there’s no harm in you reaping a little extra reward from it!  Some grocery stores offer fuel perks or rewards when you purchase gift cards.  Buy a gift card or two before your trip to cash in on the perks your grocery store might offer.   Sam’s Club sells discounted Disney gift cards.  While the discount is minimal ($1.13 off a $100 gift card), it’s still money saved!  Sometimes other offers are included when buying a Disney gift card through Sam’s Club – such as a free $10 gift card to the Disney Store, or a free vinylmation.

Scrapbook.  Now that your child has spent their Gift Card, what’s next?  Disney merchants will hand back a $0 balance gift card so that it may be kept as a souvenir.  If you scrapbook with your child, this is a great piece to add!

Give it a try!  What have you got to lose?  (Okay, you could lose the gift card, but you can get that replaced.)  What have you got to gain?  An opportunity for your child to learn how to handle money responsibly at an early age!

In addition to writing for Chip & Co., Terri writes for her own blog Walt Disney World Hints.  She also gives extra tips on her Facebook Page WDW Hints.

Related articles

• Saving on Souvenirs at Walt Disney World (chipandco.com)
• Disney World Souvenirs – How Do I Decide? (chipandco.com)

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