An educated consumer

I've started on basic economic lessons with my son - simply, that when we need something, we go to the store and buy it. We just don't take things without paying for it.

This explanation works out well when he wants something and I don't want to buy it, so I simply tell him I don't have the money for it. He seems to understand that logic.

It also works well, when I do agree to buy something but he wants to hold onto it, and then I tell him that he has to put it on the checkout counter so that Mommy can buy it and when I'm done buying it, he can have it.

Apparently, that wasn't all he knew about shopping.

Just before bedtime tonight, he approached his dresser, which has several of his current favorite batch of toys on top.
He explained, "I have to buy these things."

So he picked up a toy, waved it in front of his small mirror, adding some sound effects. "ChChChChCh'. He put it down, picked up another toy, scanned that in front of the mirror. He did that with all the toys until everything on his dresser had been scanned in.

"OK, I buy it all!"