Teaching Kids about Money in Chi-Chi Castenango, Guatemala

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Hello, from Guatemala! My family and I have been traveling through Guatemala for the past week and have several more days to go. One town we visited was Chi-Chi Castenango, which is a wonderful town with lots of street shopping. This gave my kids a great opportunity to learn about money and bargaining. They had their own money–once it was gone, it was gone. And they negotiated their own purchases with the vendors. Several interesting leasons were learned, and I want to share one of them with you now.

My daughter found negotiating very difficult. She wanted to get the best price she could, because she had a limited amount of money. At the same time, she wanted to be fair to the vendors, many of whom were very young children (even 7 and 8 years old!) She found herself paying a little more than should could have bargained for, all the time trying to find a balance between her limited money and fairness. Some would say this is silly–always negotiate the best price regardless of the circumstances. My daughter took a more balanced approach, and it was great to see her considering the needs of others.

Adios for now.

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