Special repayment, saving or consumption?

"Finding it cool" wouldn’t really be my approach; for example, I also thought smoking was cool at the age of 11. I can't do much with this term, and it wouldn't be reflected in the parenting style.
A child will always ask about everything, I also wanted everything in 1965... but at some point I stopped asking because I saw that it was not possible. At our house, the father was taken care of first because he brought the money home, and he also got the biggest piece of meat on Sundays. I did not handle it that way myself, but in hindsight I can understand it and even find something instructive about the whole thing.

Our little one turns 3 months old today and currently finds a crinkly bee really cool.
Don’t take every word too seriously.
Honestly, I don’t even know if I always wanted to have or do everything; despite a rather down-to-earth childhood (no, not a wealthy family), I remember myself as quite content. I want the same, no more and no less, for my children. I think all parents want that. I find it difficult to judge others in this regard, everyone defines contentment differently in the end. And if Charlotte next door eventually has to painfully realize that life is not free and that traveling costs money that you have to work for, then that is not our problem but Charlotte’s. And probably her parents’.

Well, the smaller the children are, the more physical activity they need. The urge to move is strong. Nowadays, it's called “burning off energy.” And there's plenty of energy available.


Was it a coincidence with Charlotte von Nebenan?
Charlotte von Nebenan probably has to learn that janitors, housekeepers, a mom at home full-time, eating out or delivery service, several vacations, and mountains of clothes and toys are not normal. Mom already had to learn that you can also keep children busy without amusement parks and kindergartens.

Was it a coincidence with Charlotte von Nebenan?
Charlotte von Nebenan probably has to learn that janitor, housekeeper, full-time stay-at-home mom, eating out or delivery service, several vacations and mountains of clothes and toys are not normal. Mom already had to learn that you can entertain children without amusement parks and kindergarten.

What do you mean by coincidence?
I just took a random name.

There are certainly different levels. Genuine material hardship, where food is scarce or one really cannot afford to buy clothes, will be known to only a few here. However, there is a level of "participation," and those who cannot afford this perceive themselves—at least relatively speaking in this country—as poor as well. When going to the cinema is never possible, or the outdoor pool, or the indoor playground, and even a vacation in Germany by the lake remains a dream—children will surely come to feel at some point that "we can't afford anything." Personally, I do not want to (and explicitly do not have to) go as far as that limit for the house. Sure, I could skip visits to the leisure pool, where fifty bucks are gone quickly, and put the money into a pot for special repayments. But: I do not want to.

The other extreme is constantly "delegating" the entertainment of the children; I know someone like that—there is always a program, rushing from museum to planetarium to concert. That, of course, costs money and in such intensity it also adds up financially.

Finding a healthy middle ground, where the special outing is exactly that: something special, is the art. Achieving the optimum with the available resources—and what one understands by that, everyone must decide for themselves. I simply do not want to miss/cut out a few things, so I take the money for that—even if I could use it in the same way elsewhere.

Those who do not have to restrict themselves, can indulge every (buying) whim, still make the full special repayment, and meanwhile accumulate money to pay off the KfW loan after 10 years, are probably in the minority; it is simply not the rule.

How do you mean that with chance? I just took a random name.

I just happen to know someone with that name. If this continues like this, she does not know how a broom works.

That's the one Bibi Blocksberg flies, right? Mashed potatoes!