Video Game Drain

Marketers have come to see our kids as a huge target audience. Why? Studies have shown that the largest portion of a family's discretionary income (the money left over after having paid our "must-pay" bills) is being directed by kids - think $100 sneakers and jeans. A second reason is that if they lure the kids into their customer ranks now, they have many years of marketing to that loyal customer - potentially 50 years or more.

How does this translate into a success action step for you and your family. The answer is twofold.

First we need to educate our kids. When you are with them in front of the TV and the commercial comes on for that latest greatest toy, take the time to explain that behind that commercial are some pretty smart people who are doing anything - yes, sometimes even lying - to talk your kids out of their money.

Secondly, try this technique: I sat down with my son one day while he was alphabetizing his Nintendo games (he is his father's son). We did a quick count that came close to 100 games. I then walked him through the math:

• 100 games at an approximate cost of $50 each equals $5,000 spent
• What are they worth now? (His answer: Little or nothing - maybe $5-$10 each)
• 100 games at a current value of around $1,000
• He lost about $4,000 in about 4 years

I asked him what he thought it would be like to have invested $5,000 in Nintendo or some other company. If the company's ROI (Return on Investment) was an average of 10% (a very reasonable historical average for this kind of company), he would have earned over $2,300 in that four years. Don't underestimate your child's ability to follow this. It will start some great conversations for the next few days. Even your kids will get that buying all those games was a waste.

I am not saying your child should never buy a video game. But maybe cutting the purchases in half and investing the rest could be a great decision for the whole family.

Hit Pause

As the description of this blog indicates, we are looking at discovering or creating a better life at home. One routine that we began in our home was the Sunday afternoon dinner.

We all are busy during the week and for many families with kids, the weekends can be just as busy. Between religious obligations, sports activities and playdates, it can be hard to get the family together for five minutes. Time to hit the Pause Button!

We re-connected with something that we came to know as kids as the big Italian Sunday dinner. There are different variations of this, but simply put, it was a mid afternoon event where family and friends sat for hours to relax with the ones they loved over food and drink.

We found that this time frame works well for us. By Sunday afternoon most programmed events are over. As I tend to start work very early on Monday, I am already distracted by thoughts of work by early Sunday evening. Perfect – a couple of unplanned hours to reconnect with family before the week starts again!

Often, this time is spent at a simple restaurant. Our favorites are an Italian restaurant, which made its way out to Long Island from New York City’s Little Italy, and a Japanese restaurant where we can sit in a cozy, private room enclosed with shoji screens and with pillows to sit on.

At around 2:00 in the afternoon, most restaurants are not too busy and therefore, the meal can be unhurried. We use the time to really catch up with each other and what’s going on in each other’s lives. No one is racing from the table to “go check on something” or to start cleaning up. It’s the one moment we really seem to see and hear each other.

Life is short. Hit the Pause Button for your family and capture a few quality moments.


- Peace