Did my son ask the wrong question?
What if all these money lessons have kids focusing too much on money?
The visit to the oral surgeon seemed pretty routine. My 16-year old son was back a year after getting his wisdom teeth out. Apparently there was a bonus tooth buried under his gums that was horizontal and had to come out. My husband called it the “caveman” tooth!
So here we were again. If we are being honest, I did think about the cost of the tooth removal because that’s just who I am. But I had not said anything about it to anyone including my son. We have good insurance that would cover a good chunk of it, and so it would not be that bad. Also, it wasn’t optional. We needed to do it before school started in September.
When the oral surgeon came in to discuss the procedure, he asked my son if he thought he would be okay if he just numbed the area around the tooth. If not, they could use anesthesia. He said it would take a little more time. But that was all he said. He then asked if there were any questions.
My son’s only question was: Does the anesthesia cost more and if so how much?
My heart sank. I wanted to scream: Harry! This is why your dad and I work so hard to earn a good living! It’s so we don’t have to ask these questions.
I cut him off and assured him the anesthesia cost should not be a factor in his decision. The surgeon joked that he would give us half price on it. (I secretly thought- nice negotiating tactic Harry).
But it got me thinking: What if making our (almost) adult kids hyper-aware of money makes them see everything through a “what does it cost” lens? We don’t want them to be naive about what it costs to be a grownup. But we also don’t want them to be constantly making every decision based on price. Sometimes you need that anesthesia.
This is actually a reminder to all of us that using money to make pain go away- tooth pain or otherwise, is often a very wise use of it. Money does solve problems.
What are your thoughts?
If you follow the financial news, odds are you are getting many different perspectives on whether or not we will have a recession. Some people even believe we have had one or are in one already.
I personally have no clue. But I do believe that our economy is very much an ecosystem. Even if you believe you are in an industry or economic bracket that is economically stable, that doesn’t mean you won’t feel the impact of economic setbacks to other groups. Yaël Bizouati-Kennedy wrote a compelling piece on what a “Richsession” would mean to all of us, and included my perspective. Click on the button below the quote to read her story.
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Thank you so much for your comment Raghu! You make a great point and I thank you for taking the time to chime in!
There is nothing wrong with the kid asking that question. If you let it creep in one area of life, it will creep in other areas of life as well. When s/he makes her/his own money, they will make that choice - can I afford this convenience.