To say no to Claire’s?

Yes! I don’t imagine there are hordes of penniless adults wandering around cursing their parents for not making them save their pocket money to spend at an artisan craft fair. It’s like wanting to go to McDonald’s and being taken to some grown up restaurant for an Angus beef burger with caramelised onion relish and rocket leaves. Of course the food is better at the restaurant, but sometimes all you want is a McDonald’s😅

You don't learn if someone takes over decisions for you ,you just become resentful.
My mum had this envelope where she put £1.70 a week pocket money in ,to spend any I had to ask for the exact amount,and she wrote on the envelope what I spent it on
Just one example of her controlling parenting .
So I've never controlled any money my 4 DC had ,and they all chose to save well.
Match attacks those football cards ,drove me to distraction,as it felt like a waste of money,but I resisted to urge together involved.
I firmly believe mine are good with money from being able to make their own decisions ..unlike me who got in a pickle at uni from never having my own money to manage

i do get the attraction of Claire's though, we called it The Pink Fluffy Shop and my DDs were very excited when they found branches here in Germany.

As pp said: the phase does pass. But i do think that teaching them the value of money also includes letting them spend some of their disposable cash on what they want. But i really don't think it hurts to teach things like delayed gratification, or one-in-one-out (which i and a lot of my friends do with shoes and clothes)

I loved Claire's as a child much to my mums dismay! They do have some decent items albeit v expensive for what they are. Most of it is tat though!
Accessorize might be a better option - maybe a touch more expensive but better quality I think

Claire's is hugely overpriced crap. how much pocket money do your kids get (esp the 6 year old) so it would stretch to shopping in Claires.

because life is about teaching your children things.

Teaching not to immediately spend your income (pocket money, grant money, wages) is a valuable life lesson that we need now more than ever.

I told mine about this study when he was about 6 https://jamesclear.com/delayed-gratification it became the subject of a lot of lively discussion for quite some time. Upshot was he wanted to be someone who could cope with delayed gratification and he stopped buying shit. He’s really good at not impulse buying now

I agree with you, it’s a pile of crap. My kids are pretty careful and last time we went there 2 items were broken by the time we got home!

How the hell does a thread about wee girls buying lip gloss and water bottles end up so soul suckingly grim.

Why does a kid wanting to spend their pocket money need to be about teaching something though? Why can't we just let kids enjoy things once in a while?

Who are you to determine that they should?

Who are you to determine that they shouldn't find joy in it?

Let them spend their pocket money as they want. That's what it's for. Claire's is fun and cheerful and learning what they like, what attracts them is part of their development. It'll be something else soon enough.

Don't give them extra money if they've blown it all and want something else, though.

The issue is not the quality of the product, I have Claire's hair clips and ear studs that are perfectly good.

You need to teach them to look after their stuff better. It isn't them, or the products, it's you.

I don't tell mine they can't spend money anywhere in particular, but if I think it's a daft idea (like the wildly overpriced Claire's), I say things like "let's have a look elsewhere and see if we can get a bit more for our money"

No. Part of the responsibility of pocket money is working out what to spend it on, what to save, what's worth it, what you'll regret later; and figuring out how to deal with those emotions.

Although as someone with a similarly-obsessed Claire's child in their life; I'm surprised you've had such a poor run with things, and I do think you probably need to assess how gentle your girls are being! Are they naturally clumsy/heavy-handed?

Ah I think Saturday shopping at Claire's for 9 year olds is a rite of passage! I spent many afternoons there when my DD was around that age and bought all the crap too! It was fun.

It's definitely pocket money disposable stuff though and not built to last. I agree with pps to limit the amount they can spend there.

When they are in their late twenties, left home, working hard and saving every penny for a house and travelling the world, you'll both miss these frivolous days!

They are too young for pocket money IMO.

They are thinking that pocket money is to be spent and they have no idea how time consuming and stressful it can be to earn money.

I would stop the pocket money entirely and teach them that you spend money when you need to. Not because it is burning a hole in your pocket.

If on their birthday/christmas they really want Claire's stuff, then they can make a considered decision. Rather than just going there and grabbing shite.

One proper stainless steel waterbottle would last decades. And in that time, you'd probably have to buy 100s of Claire's water bottles if you're breaking them within a week.

I have stuff from Claire's I bought a decade ago that's still fine! And more recent stuff too.

I agree their stuff is crap. But it is a fun shop for that age. It is also expensive for what it is. Poundland might be a better option. It doesnt feel such a waste when it inevitably breaks.
Or save for teo weeks and buy from marks or somewhere.
But ultimately, whatever they buy will eventually end up in landfill as noone is keeping their plastic earings and sparkly pen forever!

i would encourage the save half thing, but no caveats on the half they don't save.

Why would they have to wait two weeks to spend a fiver in Claire's ffs. What a joyless old world.

Teach delayed gratification: if you wait a week and you still want it, buy it then. In the meantime look if there is something on Vinted (please for the love of all that is holy not Temu etc)

Breaking things quickly? take the thing back, every time. And if you buy earrings, test that the backs are relatively stiff when you put them on? Learning not to break things and chuck them around, but also which things are likely to break quickly is part of the growing up process.

Why must joy be derived from plastic tat that ends up in the bin?

Why would they have to wait two weeks to spend a fiver in Claire's ffs. What a joyless old world.

Been there. Daughter was always spending pocket money on the overpriced tat in there. Thankfully, they do grow out of it.

Yes maybe you are buying what they ask for every time? Give them a budget .

They won't learn anything if you keep giving them money for nothing when they don't need or want anything in particular. They'll keep wasting it on crap that breaks because they wont care.