To say no to Claire’s?

There’s me wondering what Claire’s is. Never heard of it. The only reason I clicked on the thread was because I wondered who Claire was. Now off to ask google…

Yes.

I know this is not what you asked at all, but if there's a Repair Cafe near you, your kids can take their stuff along to be fixed- actually quite fun and they get their stuff mended!

You're not doing that with Claire's! That kind of stuff you need to be sourcing from aliexpress/temu.

You should be teaching them to save for something bigger.

At that age one of mine wanted an orange bike, so we worked through how he could buy it. I made sure It was a good brand (frog) that would hold its value for resale.

We discussed how much pocket money he would need, how long it would take to save, and also an impending birthday and how to politely ask for money instead of a gift (he was being asked what he wanted, and grandparents were happy, so it was an easy switch). We also discussed buying it second hand or new.
The bike was eventually bought, loved and when he grew out of it sold on ebay and the money went into his savings account. He has also done the same as a teenager.

In more recent years he and his brother saved for a games console they wanted. Showing them the resale aspect (selling old console on ebay with games and accessories, saving, working for extra money like car washing....all comes together.)

I have jewellery I bought from Claire’s when I was a teenager (I’m now 40!) and it’s still going strong. Bit discoloured now but not broken. And yes I still occasionally wear it.
Maybe it used to be better quality?

I think there’s a ‘Claire’s phase’ and it’ll no doubt be something that gives them a bit of ‘cred’ at school. It’ll almost definitely pass once they stop being tweens. Assuming we’re talking about small bits of money here and there, I’d let them figure it out for themselves.

YANBU. They're aren't too young to learn about fast fashion and waste. They're your kids, the money comes from you so can have some control over how they spend. If they're desperate for Claire's perhaps encourage them towards buying it from vinted or charity shops. We absolutely encourage thoughtful spending in our house.

What stopped mine buying shit was not getting them many things at Xmas/birthdays. They then had to save for stuff they really wanted.

I also wouldn't take them to Claire's every week, unless they can walk to it surely you can say no to that bit.

Do you apply this rule to yourself as well.

What about Tiger? DS likes looking around. Stuff is decent,

It’s truly hell on earth. And the pricing strategy of buy 3 get 3 free (but doesn’t include this thing or this thing or that brand or that price point) is extremely hard to explain to kids. They really do us parents a dirty on that one.
However… the high street doesn’t have many options for kids these days to spend their pocket money; no newsagents or penny sweets left so I reluctantly let them buy. Within reason. My 12 year old is thankfully out of it. I hate that kids are forced to buy online as the thrill and appreciation is gone as it’s an instant click that then just magically arrives!
Plus they know how much I hate it so when they got stuff from Claire’s from Santa it really kept the dream alive as they knew I would never buy from there! 😉

I vote let them.

One of mine had a Claire’s phase and is very quality conscious as a result. It takes time to make the connections, but if they can figure it out and tell you, instead of you interfering and lecturing them, it is an impactful learning experience.

The other one spent his pocket money on the add ons on an online game for a few months. And now he is so clear headed about the advertising and pressures, in gaming. It took him time to put it together for himself but he’s been much more influential on his dsis and dfs than an adult would be.

I am long past the Claire’s stage but I think that banning anything instantly makes it more attractive. I like what people have suggested about having a wait period before buying.
Ass that they are buying in store and not online then I would try to reduce their ability to buy there by not going there. Take them to some shops where they will see stuff which is better made, more ethically produced and possibly less blingy. You could offer occasionally to put something towards a purchase you thought more desirable. You could encourage them to record what they spend money on, to talk about the idea that money can only be spent once.

We have limits on space so once a space is full, no more of that stuff e.g. if your jewellery box is full, something else needs to go before something new comes in.

Let them shop there if it's what they like but maybe limit it to a certain amount and try and encourage them to look for better value for money elsewhere. Primark has similar stuff, it might not be amazing quality on all of its items but it's a lot cheaper.

We have this problem too. But mine also likes primark - has figured she gets more for her money. Claire's is poor quality and we are forever losing or breaking stuff. I just tend to avoid parts of the mall where there is one.

It takes quite a few years before they start understanding being sensible with money.

limiting the amt they can spend seems a compromise.

Can you avoid going past Claire's in your day-to-day? So there's casually "no opportunity"? Presumably they don't shop online?

Then equally as casually, happen to be in an area where there's somewhere nice they can spend their money? Then coo over the stuff and how nice / interesting or whatever it is.

Banning it, will just make it into forbidden fruit ime.

Claire’s stuff is trash so not surprised it’s breaking. We had to ban stuff from Tiger as it’s also trash and just breaks. Maybe get them into vinted? Or Etsy? Think you need to take the lead here, it’s landfill stuff and wasting their money.

No matter what they buy when they’re young, it’s all going to disappear into the ether anyway. They aren’t buying heirlooms, they just want the buzz of buying something new and shiny. They will learn to make better choices as they get older.

The Claire’s phase doesn’t last long, we had a rule that DD couldn’t buy multiple of the same thing in quick succession eg water bottles (she was obsessed at one point), and her bank account automatically divided her pocket money into save and spend.

We also had a rule that only 10% could be spent on online games, or she would have bankrupted herself on Robux. My kids still parrot “we don’t spend real money on imaginary things.

@Brokebackretail I'm with you. And it's not just the waste of money buying flimsy crap, it's that the crap all ends up in landfill or the sea, destroying the environment. Teach them not to buy crap.

Eh I think you need to teach looking after things..Our 4 year old twins have loads of accessories and nothing has broken or been broken..Once there finished with there hair things,bangles etc they know to put them away