My kids have been begging me for about 3 months to have a lemonade stand. This morning we set up shop on our street. The kids worked very hard and were very responsible about setting up, serving and thanking their customers. Our customers were all strangers (no neighbors) and I was out there with them the whole time.
Several times my 6 year old was asked what charity she was collecting money for. She was at first confused and then a bit stumped as to what to say, as she was just doing this for herself.
It was awkward and put me in an apologetic position of saying how this was simply for her to earn some money.
My daughter sat in the hot sun for almost 2 hours, and only made $5.50 after paying me back for the expenses. She learned valuable lessons about counting change, thanking her customers, not to mention that all the money wasn't profit, but first she had to account for the cost of the lemonade!
Does everything have to be for some charity now?
What happened to just letting kids work hard and earn some money to show for it?
Happy2BMommy, is a stay-at-home mom who just turned 40 (argh!) with a 6 yr. old daughter and a 4 yr. old son, and is a discussion leader for arizonamoms.com living in Scottsdale.
It is so rare to see
It is so rare to see lemonade stands perhaps people think there has to be more behind it than simply the child raising money. I wouldn't see any more into it than that. My kids used to do stands too. Their gimmick was to offer drinks for free. People would tip them well and they netted pretty good money!
Mom of teenage boys!
No one put a gun to their
No one put a gun to their heads and made them buy the lemonade. You could just say "This is to benefit the insert your last name here family relief fund".LOL
If they don't like it, then they don't have to buy the darn lemonade. I think people just like to throw out guilt trips. If I saw some little kids selling lemonade I wouldn't think there had to be a philanthropic purpose behind it.
Its summer! Kids love
Its summer! Kids love lemonade stands. I see kids selling lemonade at garage sales and sometimes I'm so happy because it really comes at a good time when the heat is skyrocketing. I would just say, "It's all for fun."
There is nothing wrong with it. One summer, we had a lemonade stand, and the kids talked about it all week. Indeed, it was very exciting, and with every customer that visited, it just made our day happier.
I'm all for lemonade stands. Once my son gets old enough, we'll have another one.
I"m on your side. Every stand I see, my husband and I always buy, because we know the thrill that kids get from selling it.
One Happy Mom in Arizona.
I agree with you about the
I agree with you about the kids learning the value and amount of time it takes to run a business. It's not as easy as it looks.
My 6 yr old triplets have been begging me to help them with a lemonade stand as well.
Re: The charity aspect, I don't why that comment was being made to the kids unless there was sign saying something about process are going towards "whatever charity" that would be posted. Hmmm, my response would have been the "Tickets to Sea World"...but that's just me.
Please let me know if you do another one and how it goes!
Lisa_SchneiderCipriano is a discussion leader in the North, North very tip of Phoenix for arizonamoms.com. She has 6 year old triplets.
Wow! A 6 year old with an
Wow! A 6 year old with an entrepenurial spirit! Awesome job, Mom! We recently had a garage sale and our youngest was out front with us greeting people as they arrived, welcoming them to "his store." (Those were his words). It was very cute! It's funny how our children really get the notion of exchange of goods, eh?
I am not sure that I would have thought of the charity question beforehand; however, it sounds like you managed it well. Now that you know to expect the question, you can be ready for the next lemonaid stand experience.
Mouse_tales is a discussion leader in the East Valley for arizonamoms.com. She is a business owner, community volunteer, and aspiring runner (whew!), who most enjoys her roles as wife & mom. Her children range in age from 4 to 13.
I wouldn't worry about a few
I wouldn't worry about a few comments. Maybe they sincerely thought most lemonade stands are for charity nowadays. Personally, I always assume the kids are doing it for themselves. You could tell them next time (proudly) that your child is learning how to work hard and earn money herself...something every child should learn. :-)
Hobbymommy, 38, is a discussion leader from Mesa. She is a happy stay-at-home mommy to a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
I doesn't sound to me like
I doesn't sound to me like anyone was being critical, just drawing wrong assumptions. Don't take it as bad, take it as a good lesson for your kids to learn about making assumptions. Sometimes you think one thing and unless you ask, you'll never know if it is.
I think people will give more if it for a charitiy, so that may have been the purpose for asking.
And you are right there are great lessons in selling lemon ade, whatever the motivation. I am sure no one else gave it a second thought. Try not to let it bother you.
Lovemy4 is a discussion leader for North Central Phoenix, tired mother of 4 great kids and wife to one great husband.