To say no to Claire’s?

[Brokebackretail]

Basically my children aged 6 and 9 want to spend all their pocket money in Claire’s.

Everything they buy ends up broken within a week or two as it's such poor quality.

I want to give them autonomy with their money, and wanted them to change their mind about Claire’s themselves, but there's no sign of that.

Should I outlaw Claire’s and direct them to better quality stuff, or do I let them continue shopping there even though I hate it?

YANBU - outlaw Claire’s!
YABU - let them spend where they want

It's their pocket money, let them spend it how they wish. They will learn eventually.

They are 6 and 9. The perfect age for Claire’s. I haven’t found any of their stuff to break. Yes it might seem like overpriced tat but girls this age love all these accessories. Believe me you will miss them loving Claire’s when they reach age 11 and are into skincare! 🥺

I'm 44 and probably wasted most of my pocket money in Claire's Accessories as a child. It's sort of a rite of passage and I guess if they like the stuff, it's up to them. They'll learn or outgrow it soon enough.

Claire’s is pretty awful quality and over priced. Maybe take them to some local craft markets? We have lots of good local jewellery makers and the prices don’t seem to be that bad. I buy silver stud earrings from a local maker and pay around £9 a pair, they are well made and they do lots of funky designs for adults and kids.

Claire’s Accessories - will be gobsmacked if you’ve never come across this chain before!

I’m not sure what you’re getting pounced on defending Claire’s quality.

It’s cheap tat. The kind of stuff you’d find in Poundland but 5x the price.

BUT, it’s your DD pocket money. I remember my mum always having an opinion on how I spent my pocket money. In the end I felt no motivation to behave as I no longer saw it as my money.

Let them spend their pocket money on what they want. It’s crap to us, but gold to them. Let them enjoy picking out what they want, it’s worth more than the money.

I hated clares when my adult Dds were young it is the ultimate tatt shop but it had the latest "trends" for young girls.

so I did take them, but I only let them spend X amount every few weeks just so they didn't buy so much crap. it is supposed to be cheap and cheerful so you are not going to get quality sadly, just split their money up and monitor what they buy.

I couldn’t agree more. I received birthday money from my gp’s but had to save it in an account (like £10). I didn’t see it as my money. It never brought me any happiness, and didn’t teach me what it was supposed to teach me. I knew even then that it was wrong, if the money was given to me I should be able to have an opinion on what I wanted to spend it on. A couple of magazines or a record would have brought me happiness.

they could waste their money even quicker at primark

And want skin care fridges ! I saw my dds friend had bought 1 for her 12 year old im glad I don't have that palava to deal with.

Didn’t you spend most of your money in Claire’s at that age. It Bow Bangels as it used to be called.

No, I bought a 10p mix from the village shop.

Maybe this is the issue - I'm buying them the things I would have saved up my pocket money for as a kid - sweets or a teeshirt or stationery or a book. They are given all that so maybe it's no surprise they fritter their money away at Claire’s.

I like to support local shops as well. But I‘m not sure that’s something a child can be expected to care about.

The posts about teaching them impulse control (wait 2 weeks etc.), looking for a better deal and and encouraging spending are great imo. My mother also encouraged donations (to causes we picked together)…

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.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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!

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?