Dad Economics

Maybe its built into the job description, but dads have a certain view of home economics that, at the very least, kids do not seems to grasp. It is probably because they have absolutely no concept of money, and the first lesson in pre-school from a certified dad-economist would be, "Money Doesn't Grow On Trees." Common sayings from dads around the home, even my home growing up, would have been:  "Turn off the lights." "Don't let the heat out." "What do you mean we're out, we just bought that!" And all the others, half of which just do not carry the tried-and-true logic a dad thinks they do : )

It is funny what will carry a dollar sign. My sandwich for work costs two slices of bread , one banana and peanut butter . . . so perhaps $0.60. But I don't worry about that - a man's gotta eat! Disposable diapers are in the twenty cent range, unless they are night diapers, those are in the thirtys to fourties, or pull-ups, which are in the fifties. Changing two diapers while still at the changing pad could be half a buck right there! Ever hear about "vampire power?" Mainly just a clever term for throwing pennies away daily for all the unused electronic devices plugged into our homes and their LED "on" lights. And the list goes on and on, whether we keep track of it or not!

As a new father, I find myself thinking about the same things. Inventing a money tree, sure, but also, does the bath tub need to be so full or the sprinkler need to run so long? Why does it take four squares of toilet paper to dry a three year olds runny nose?  Hugh loves to play with the little wooden trains and tracks, and has a motorized "Percy" that can move on its own. Percy runs on a single AA battery and can pull a bunch of the other cars, even up over the bridge! However, sometimes Percy gets off the track, and nothing reminds me about the cost of batteries more than to see Hugh playing cars or robots while Percy is trying to tunnel through the base boards or grinding away the sofa leg. "Turn off Percy when he's not on the track," I'll say.

And I'll have to say it again too. In between Hugh will tell me, "Dad, Percy needs a battery. Can you fix him, in your workshop?" Of course I can, a dad can fix anything! I'll buy batteries again and again too, just to keep Percy running. The math doesn't add up to make a big deal over [i]those[/i] few cents. Hugh and Miah will learn the value of things some day and I pray they can keep a child-like view that anything and everything does not equal a dollar sign. In the world of dad economics, what our children learn from us will be obvious from what they observe, and worth far more than dollars and cents.