Pay Your Kids to Drink Water in Restaurants

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Pay Your Kids to Drink Water in Restaurants

Submitted by: anonymous 02/13/2009 5:26 PM

We have a deal going in our family. Order water with your meal and receive $1.00 on the way home. Works wonders!! No one ever orders a soft drink any more! You save money because drinks are more than $1.00 and the kids add to their piggy bank!

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Comments:

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I love this idea. With drinks costing 2.00 or more this will really save money.

Posted by Woodstock Reader on February 14, 2009 10:04 AM

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yeah, that works, or you could just tell them no.

Posted by anonymous on February 14, 2009 10:57 AM

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this is much more fun tho, and educational for the kids. help teach them to understand the value of money.

Posted by anonymous on February 14, 2009 10:44 PM

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I really like the idea and money lessons. Also, water is the healthier choice and they have the decision which is empowering.

Posted by anonymous on February 14, 2009 11:04 PM

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Excellent idea!!!

Posted by decker on February 15, 2009 4:38 PM

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Why didn't I think of that?!

Posted by anonymous on February 15, 2009 10:02 PM

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Why not have the kids pay for their sodas if they want them instead? That way it is not such a bribe.

Posted by anonymous on February 16, 2009 9:48 AM

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The sodas aren't good for them anyway.

Posted by slowbob on February 16, 2009 12:26 PM

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This isn't just a "bribe," as anonymous suggests. It's a way of teaching kids the life skill of delayed gratification. If more people had learned to wait until they had saved enough money to use a conventional mortgage, we might have avoided the housing crisis we're in now.

Posted by McDaniel on February 18, 2009 8:55 AM

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Amen!!

Posted by christyp on February 18, 2009 12:42 PM

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my parents did this for me when I was growing up. 25 cents each time (I imagine soda was cheaper then...). They saved money, I pocketed a quarter....and I don't think I've ever ordered soft drink with my meal since.

Even now, if my wife and I go out to eat with my folks, they'll slip us quarters when we order water.

Posted by peter on February 24, 2009 4:19 PM

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Have you ever thought of just saying no to something your kids want?!

Posted by Jane on February 25, 2009 5:23 PM

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When we do this it is not a bribe, but a lesson on being frugal and eating a little healthier. We do not force our children to accept this deal....they leap at the chance!

Posted by spidermonkey on February 27, 2009 1:35 PM

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Now I have heard it all, when we pay our kids to drink water. What in the world is the matter with todays parents?

Posted by Shortyridge on February 27, 2009 2:37 PM

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I have my children just drink water too. Problem when we go out as a family, is that my husband always has to order Tea. Can't have a meal w/out it. Makes it difficult to keep kids from ordering. I usually go for the water but order a bowl of lemons/limes to the table as most water in restaurants tastes awful.

Posted by asb27 on February 27, 2009 3:55 PM

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I think this is a fun and educational thing to do with your kids! There's nothing wrong with it...there's a chance to talk about so much here with them - health, saving money, respect, etc. Pretty cool! Luckily, my girls have stopped wanting anything but water since hubby and I have stopped drinking soda all together. Of coarse, oldest girl never liked it in the first place, but youngest did and she doesn't drink it anymore, either.

Posted by Jessica on February 27, 2009 5:29 PM

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I love the idea, but I don't think I could drink water at a restaurant myself. I drink bottled/filtered water at home/work, but I couldn't drink tap water they bring you at the restaurant (we don't drink anything with ice either). I do think I will try this idea with junk food though ($1 if you eat your vegetables).

Posted by anonymous on March 04, 2009 7:27 PM

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Are we all afraid to set limits with our children? It would be okay to just say, we're all ordering water. Going out to eat is a treat and should be appreciated as such. Children don't need to paid for anything, really. They just need to have good practices modeled for them and explained to them. This sets the wrong tone, though I'm sure that wasn't the intention.

Am I misunderstanding? Would it be okay if they ordered milk? My children don't drink soft drinks. We don't have them at home or order them in restaurants. There's no nutritional benefit. That's the bigger lesson. If we go out to eat they can order milk or juice. If we can't afford to do that we stay home and eat. No dilemma then.

Good habits start early. This is not about frugality but good eating habits. Would anyone pay their children not to drink milk? Not me!

Posted by anonymous on April 05, 2009 11:58 PM

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Spidermonkey, a lesson in eating heathier would be to order milk or juice. It's okay to order water but call it what it is.

Posted by anonymous on April 06, 2009 4:28 AM

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My kids always had to drink milk with every meal at home and when we went out they had to order milk. Yes, I let them order chocolate milk as that was a treat. I don't think my kids ever had a soda when we went out to eat but then again we didn't eat at Mickey D's or the other fast food joints.

One way to save money was to have them finish everything on their plate that was ordered. No food was thrown in the trash because they ate some junk food before we went out to eat and weren't hungry.

I just saw a picture in the paper taken in 1954, there was not an obese body in it. Today's papers are loaded with obese people in every picture. Maybe we have over sodaed our kids with sodas at home and the fast food restaurants.

Posted by LadyD on July 21, 2009 12:28 PM

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If children are required to eat everything on their plates it could lead to eating disorders or weight problems. Would any adult like to be told they must keep eating when they are full?

Try having them split a meal with someone. We order less. Usually, two meals and a side will feed two adults and two kids. Take the reins early. Keep their likes in mind, but ultimately decide how much food needs to be ordered.

Posted by anonymous on July 30, 2009 2:22 AM

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Take leftovers home. You won't save money by having the children clean their plates. You'll pay for the food whether they eat it or not. And you might avoid a tummy ache!

Posted by anonymous on July 30, 2009 2:27 AM

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I think this is a horrible idea as tap water if it isn't filtered is not good for you AT ALL!!! So I would for sure ask first if it is filtered water... That's just me.

Posted by anonymous on August 12, 2009 6:47 PM

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Oh my! I had this happen to me when I posted something one time...we aren't telling you that YOU should do this. We are just posting what works for US, and if it HAPPENS to work for you in whatever perfect world you are living, great! If not, close the link and move on to something that works for YOU. It's just that, letting others know what works for US. Gotta love the parents who purport to be the the epitomy of perfect parenting: only healthy food eaten at perfect times of day, don't even know what is on TV because they read every waking moment of every day that they aren't doing the perfect amount help around the perfectly groomed home or the perfect amount of exercise doled out at the perfect times of day, and perfectly mannered in their perfect parents presence, only to grow up to be the biggest hypocritical brat (that's what hypocritical parents breed) who every other kid (and parent) hates because they have the attitude of perfection and are anything but...we are humans who do great in some areas and terrible in others. I'm not going to condemn parents who allow their kids to drink soft drinks, even though I rarely drink soft drinks myself and my child decided at early age that they just don't like soda or juice or basically anything that's not cherry flavored or water or chocolate milk, because I have OTHER FAULTS that those, God-forbid, 'yes' parents who (gasp) give their kids a choice to drink soda at a restaurant do not!

This is a GREAT site with so much valued information shared between people. Please, if you don't like an idea, why do you feel the need to condemn it and even worse, why do 15 people after you have to say the same thing? Not everyone is going to find value in every idea, and that's OK. We are SHARING what works for us, not forcing our ideas on every other person here!

Posted by anonymous on January 01, 2010 12:23 PM

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Yes, juice has more health benefits than soda--but it has sugar too! Just because it is the sugar that occurs naturally in fruit doesn't mean it isn't sugar!
Some of these comments are a bit "holier-than-thou" Why do these comment sections on the internet always have so many negative posters?

Posted by anonymous on January 02, 2010 12:56 PM

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When I had my first child ('91) our Pediatrician told me that juice was not necessary, unless it was Orange Juice. So they got water, milk and Orange Juice as staples.

Posted by Trish on January 02, 2010 2:31 PM

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