One of the best ways to make a point with kids is to give them real-life examples of things other kids do that underscores your message.  So, once again, I find myself using my own kids as pawns.  I hang out with them a lot and, as a result, I end up with a bunch of stories perfect for use in my money classes.

Here’s one I use when I talk with kids about unwise things to do with our money.  It’s a lesson on gambling and this particular example has to do with the lottery.

Now you may be thinking that the kids I work with aren’t even old enough to gamble.  True.  But gambling comes in many forms.   

We had driven to Pleasanton, a town about two hours from our house.  Ryan had a cross country meet.   When we “travel” to these sports events, we usually eat out, a rarity for us, and a treat for the kids.

We were at McDonald’s ordering our “food”  when Ryan picked up the McDonald’s Monopoly Game Board.  This story took place last fall so the game is now over.  But if you didn’t see one of the boards when the game was out, it’s a mini version of the real Monopoly board and the idea was to collect properties in the form of game stamps.  

The game stamps were collected by buying stuff off of the McDonalds menu.  If you were lucky enough to collect all of one color, then you won a prize.

Kids haven’t been around long enough to know that these things are rigged.  And by rigged, I mean rigged in a mathematical way.  You and I know that the probability of winning both Boardwalk and Park Place and receiving a million dollars is slim to just about none.  But kids don’t.  And if they win a free McSomething, it gives them the “bug” to try it again.

So here’s what happened.  We were sitting at the table eating when Ryan said, “You don’t know how bad I want to buy a soda right now.”  Those are his exact words.  I know because I wrote them down on the Free Parking pass we got for the cross country meet which, as I was writing on it, I thought appropriately fit the Monopoly game.  

Ryan wanted to buy a soda because we got the Arches Avenue game stamp with lunch.   All we needed was Golden Avenue and, voila, we were winners.  100,000 dollar winners.

“Go ahead,”  I told him.  “But you have to buy the soda with your money.”

That made him stop and think.  That happens when you put kids in charge of their own money.  But a few minutes later he said the exact same thing, only this time with more inflection.  “You don’t know how bad I want to buy a soda right now.”

I repeated my exact words, as well, only minus any added inflection.

He didn’t buy the soda.  He was unwilling to part with his money for something he knew had a slim chance.  Being a math teacher, I get annoyed at things like the lottery.  And my kids know it; we’ve talked about this stuff before.  That said, you can give kids all the information you want, but at some point they end up on their own, and all we can do is hold our breath and hope they do the right thing.  I exhaled with relief as we walked out of McDonalds, short one soda.

Here’s a little exercise I do with my students:  Ask yourself where, on average, you would lose the most money:  gambling in a casino or playing the lottery.  Most kids, and adults, choose the casino.  But in reality, the casino takes an average of 5% of the money you initially gamble, while the lottery takes 50%.

Why do kids need to know this?  Because apparently, “legal” gambling begins early.  I consider the McDonald’s Monopoly game gambling.   Okay, so it’s not hard core gambling, but it is most definitely a form of gambling.  And one that we willingly allow our kids to participate in.  So they need to know.

It’s just about arming kids with information.   The odds of you getting struck by lightening?  1 in 9,000.  The odds of you winning the lottery?  1 in 7,000,000.  The odds of you winning the McDonald’s Monopoly game?  My guess…you’ll probably get struck by lightening first.