jblego Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I did not realize how hard it is for a young child (ages 3 and 5) to have a Lego investor as a father. I jumped in feet first 5 months ago without thinking that through. I will say it was just about enough of a drawback that I almost stopped. Originally I had thought to keep it from them but that is not my nature and kids notice metric tons (so it seems) of boxes being delivered weekly. However it got me thinking about how to use this as a teaching opportunity (we homeschool - all things are teachable ). So after talking with my wife and then the kids they each have decided to be polybag investors. We decided to limit it to 2 polybags a year at no more than 5.00 purchase per poly. I made a chart for each of them showing money in and projected money out (including fees) and monthly we check ebay and talk about when to post the polys for sale. After all that - my question is does anyone else (1) share similar drawbacks with their kids and (2) have you ever thought about involving them in the process? thx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_rockefeller Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 That is so awesome that you are teaching your kids....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheOrcKing Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 I think that is a grand idea. It's something everyone can do together as a family and have fun, plus it can be a learning experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pretzel Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 My son is involved too... but when he was younger it was tough, I had to buy an extra set and he had to work it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrymc4677 Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 yes, that is a wonderful idea. i have a 7 year old son and a 6 year old daughter. they both share a very large personal collection, which also consists of all of my old sets when i was a kid, but neither one of them know about daddy's "side job" or my secret stash. i know i won't be able to keep it from them as they get older, and your idea has me thinking about a way to let them in on the fun without having to explain to a disappointed child why they can't open the 350+ sets in our basement. thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDarkness Posted April 10, 2013 Share Posted April 10, 2013 It honestly must be torturous for kids to see how much Lego goes through the house. I have tried to balance it out a little more though, give them some to build or encourage them to save for their own. I am also considering doing something similar to you jblego, getting them to pick a set at a certain value, decide when to sell, then buy another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunamis Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I have four boys (aged 8, 5, 3, and 1). The older three love playing with Lego and the youngest likes to eat Lego. I keep most of my stash hidden from them in the garage so they have no clue about the extent of the hoard but they know I buy Lego on sale and resell it online. I have been able to incorporate them several ways that have worked well. First, when I part out lots of sets I let them help separate out the minifigures and generally pay them with free minifigures for their work. Second, when I buy used sets in bulk on eBay to resell they help me build the sets to inventory, confirm they are complete, and/or find out what pieces are missing. When they help me with this I make it teachable by keeping them informed about what I bought the sets for and what they sold for and we split the net profit 50/50. There is some stress involved with incorporating them because my 3 year-old doesn't grasp the importance of not losing any pieces but overall it has been fun for all of us and I think they are learning money lessons while having fun along the way. It has been interesting trying to convince my mother-in-law that I don't sell my kids' Lego sets. I think she believes me but is still suspicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comicblast Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I have four boys (aged 8, 5, 3, and 1). The older three love playing with Lego and the youngest likes to eat Lego. Lol. Love this! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackjack Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 (we homeschool - all things are teachable ). I'm a sophomore, and I've been homeschooled my whole life! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunkers97 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I did not realize how hard it is for a young child (ages 3 and 5) to have a Lego investor as a father. I jumped in feet first 5 months ago without thinking that through. I will say it was just about enough of a drawback that I almost stopped. Originally I had thought to keep it from them but that is not my nature and kids notice metric tons (so it seems) of boxes being delivered weekly. However it got me thinking about how to use this as a teaching opportunity (we homeschool - all things are teachable ). So after talking with my wife and then the kids they each have decided to be polybag investors. We decided to limit it to 2 polybags a year at no more than 5.00 purchase per poly. I made a chart for each of them showing money in and projected money out (including fees) and monthly we check ebay and talk about when to post the polys for sale. After all that - my question is does anyone else (1) share similar drawbacks with their kids and (2) have you ever thought about involving them in the process? thx Dude... this... is AWESOME!!! I'm homeschooled too... leaves more time for checking prices and doing BP :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jblego Posted April 11, 2013 Author Share Posted April 11, 2013 I also have involved the kids in helping to clean and sort the used sets we get sometimes. I did miss thinking about "paying" them for the time. So thx for that Dunamis. I am encouraged to hear from some homeschooled folks as well. I would comment more but dont want to derail the thread. Investing with Daddy really has helped, especially with our 5 year old. My hope is that they will have more solid fiscal habits than I now have much later in life. If Legos helps in that regard - its a great value add. Also i think it would be cool if many years from now my kids can truly say that they have been Lego investors since ages 3 and 5. Each year we will put each childs "portfolio" into a binder to track (and take a digital pic to archive). They may not like it or care when they grow up but i think it would be neat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackjack Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I also have involved the kids in helping to clean and sort the used sets we get sometimes. I did miss thinking about "paying" them for the time. So thx for that Dunamis. I am encouraged to hear from some homeschooled folks as well. I would comment more but dont want to derail the thread. Investing with Daddy really has helped, especially with our 5 year old. My hope is that they will have more solid fiscal habits than I now have much later in life. If Legos helps in that regard - its a great value add. Also i think it would be cool if many years from now my kids can truly say that they have been Lego investors since ages 3 and 5. Each year we will put each childs "portfolio" into a binder to track (and take a digital pic to archive). They may not like it or care when they grow up but i think it would be neat. Sadly, they will probably be sucked into the black hole of DARK AGE! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrymc4677 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I also have involved the kids in helping to clean and sort the used sets we get sometimes. I did miss thinking about "paying" them for the time. So thx for that Dunamis. I am encouraged to hear from some homeschooled folks as well. I would comment more but dont want to derail the thread. Investing with Daddy really has helped, especially with our 5 year old. My hope is that they will have more solid fiscal habits than I now have much later in life. If Legos helps in that regard - its a great value add. Also i think it would be cool if many years from now my kids can truly say that they have been Lego investors since ages 3 and 5. Each year we will put each childs "portfolio" into a binder to track (and take a digital pic to archive). They may not like it or care when they grow up but i think it would be neat. another good idea...i do have a separate brickfolio in my son's name with our personal collection entered into it. this way i can keep my selling stock separate from our personal collection. i showed it to my son after i entered all the data, but he doesn't fully grasp the concept of how much it is worth yet in the grand scheme of things (it just cracked the $5k mark last update). one thing i have stressed with my kids is how to take proper care of their sets, the importance of not losing pieces, and why we keep the boxes. i am sure he will appreciate all of this when he is my age, and hopefully pass it on to my grandkids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackjack Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I kept all my boxes in as good a condition as I could from my earliest collecting stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunkers97 Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 I kept all my boxes in as good a condition as I could from my earliest collecting stage. Haha me and my brother used to shoot the boxes with air soft or BB guns when we where done with them... I said used to. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anakinisvader Posted April 11, 2013 Share Posted April 11, 2013 My kids, ages 9, 7, 4, 2, know about the tons of LEGO that I sell. My girl is in to Friends and my boys are in to anything they can get their hands on. The baby just looks at them in awe. Anyhoo, they know that the stuff for sell is what gets them to Disneyland so they are all for selling it. Sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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