Do not be alarmed ahead of time, Hattie Garlick is not going to starve her two-year-old son Charlie or expose barefoot in the cold. She just wants to give up the pointless waste in which she has been mired since his birth: toys for hundreds of pounds, designer clothes, haircuts in beauty salons, children's play centers - all this is completely unnecessary for children, Hattie is sure. In January, she started a blog, in which she reports in detail for every penny spent on her son. She seriously revised the system of spending: “If I have to spend money to keep my baby happy or healthy, I will. And I will honestly report everything. " Garlick is aware of the fact that different mothers live in the world, some in the most difficult life situations. She does not claim that her theory is one hundred percent correct. But after six months a very interesting realization came: endless shopping in children's departments deprived her of the most important thing - communication with the child. Now it was back to her.
Not necessary
BABY FOOD I stopped buying baby food sold at the supermarket checkout so that the baby in the cart could see and demand loudly: chocolate bars, animal-shaped cookies, lozenges and gummies. Charlie will eat the same things as his parents three times a day - fruits, vegetables, meat. This means more time to cook, but within a reasonable time frame.
CLOTHING Children grow up too fast. And the only thing a baby needs is warm and dry clothes. The kid is two years old, he does not care about trends, convenience and the presence of pockets are much more important, where you can hide a bunch of interesting things. Your friends also have children. Create a cycle of things. Children will only be grateful if they are not scolded for the soiled Dior dress.
TOYSMy husband and I decided not to buy any expensive gifts for our son for Christmas, and spent 50 pennies on a water gun that someone was selling at a garage sale. No room filled with expensive toys would have delighted my son as much as this gun. His imagination began to work wildly, and he found a hundred thousand ways to use a gun - to water flowers, water a dog, shoot, splash. There are studies that parents buy their children all sorts of gadgets and luxury toys because it makes them seem like good parents to themselves. And children play with only a quarter of their toys. The rest are gathering dust on the shelves.
ENTERTAINMENTI've been to every possible Mickey Mouse meeting, and I don't want any more. Instead, my son and I cut, glue, craft, draw, paint, sculpt and plan at home. We walk, talk, read and dance. We collect sticks and cones, learn the world and laugh a lot. It takes a lot of my energy, but he likes this kind of entertainment much more than playing in soft plastic rooms.
PUMPERS Even if I die from washing (and I seem to die soon), I will not use that which destroys nature.
CUT We cut both son and husband for four pounds from a one-eyed Albanian in a barber shop around the corner. I took a couple of master classes, and now I will do it myself.
Very necessary
NANNY This is the only expense item that I cannot refuse yet. Charlie's nanny visits three times a week. Because if it weren't for work, I would have to give up children's shopping (as well as any other) not of my own free will. And this is no longer an experiment, but a disaster.
MEDICINE I'm not crazy. And I don't want to ruin the child on principle. Therefore, the doctor's checks remain on the list of expenses.
SHOES I've taken this garment out as a separate item because the baby needs comfort. He is comfortable wearing dry, whole boots bought for his leg. In leaky and wet - no. The boots remain.
"If I don't work, money will have to be saved not out of principle, but out of necessity."
Deputy daughter
On September 22, 2010, MEP Licia Ronzulli came to the meeting with her daughter Victoria. The girl at that time was only 44 days old. Photos of the Italian Madonna with the baby sleeping in a sling caused a lot of noise. Is it possible ?! And if it is possible, then not in the European Parliament, where adults make important decisions and flies die of boredom. Couldn't she have hired a nanny? And why, in fact, it is impossible to take the child with you to work, where there is nothing dangerous? Lichia, a member of the Employment and Social Affairs Committee, said she just didn't want to part with her daughter. And at the same time she decided to draw public attention to women who, unlike her, cannot take their children with them to work. Victoria is already three years old. She still regularly goes to parliament with her mother and has already started voting.
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