Can’t keep the kids out of the fridge and pantry? Take a page out of this mum’s book and make them pay for their snack habit. How? By installing a vending machine in your home. That should do the trick!
Stop the spread. And the snacks
After several weeks of stopping the spread in lockdown, we’ve all gotten a bit carried away with our snacks.
I swear my kids went through a week’s worth of snacks in two days during the lockdown, simply because they were home, they were bored and they had access to the pantry. Thank goodness they are back to school now and I don’t have to listen to, “Can I have a snack?” 87 times a day anymore.
Anyhow, UK mum Sarah Balsdon noticed the same thing was happening with her tribe. All four of her kids – Shannon, nine, Lucy, eight, Jack, five, and Elijah, two, started to snack more often and sneak sweets without her knowing.
So, she did what all smart mums should have done. She took away their access to the treats. Instead, she hid the snacks in a secondhand vending machine so her kids would have to pay anytime they wanted something unhealthy to eat.
Well played, mum. Well played.
‘Let’s see if they can sneak sweets and treats now!’
“So sick of the arguments about unhealthy snacks (esp with lockdown) so I have bought a vending machine! If they want sweets they can do things (chores, school work etc) to earn money for them,” Sarah wrote on her Facebook page.
But where does one even find an old vending machine? Asking for a friend.
Sarah got it off Facebook marketplace and convinced her husband, Kyle to install it in their laundry. She then headed to her local grocery and raided the snack and lolly aisles.
If the kids want an unhealthy snack, they will need to use their pocket change to get it. But, don’t worry kids, it’s not ALL bad news. Sarah adds, “I’m not unreasonable. I’ve put them in at a cost price. hahaha.”
The idea is a pretty good one if you can manage to find a vending machine and have space for it in your house. Not only is Sarah limiting the snacking, but she’s also teaching kids about the value of money and hopefully getting them to do a few chores around the house. It’s a win-win-win in our books!
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