Best Money I Ever Spent?

Best money I ever spent? I bribed my kids to be quiet.

I know, I know, parenting experts usually advise against bribery. But I took my cues instead from the airlines who say to put on your oxygen mask before your kids’– and at that particular moment, I needed oxygen…badly.

It was day five of a week-long family vacation at a national park. I had overestimated how much the kids would appreciate the panoramic mountain views and underestimated their propensity for whining. My bad.

So when I could no longer stand the incessant back and forth bickering about who’s turn it was to go first on the trail or complaints about when-would-this-be-over-and-can’t we-just-go-back in-the-hotel-and-swim, I caved. I offered my three kids (and husband) $5 dollars each for their absolute silence. No talking, no singing, no whistling or any other creative bodily sounds.  Absolute quiet until we reached our car.

Did I mention this was the best money I ever spent?

For the next 15 minutes, our family walked through the beautiful woods without speaking a word.  We listened to the breeze through the pines, the occasional bird chirping and the ocean waves in the distance. We heard our footsteps hit the ground and, for a brief moment in what would prove to be an otherwise very long family vacation, we could not whine, complain, plan, criticize or comment (myself included).

In the book Happy Money: the Science of Smarter Spending, authors Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton discuss how spending money on “experiences” rather than “stuff” makes people happier in the long run. Although I’d like to think that I wouldn’t have regretted this experience even if the kids had continued to complain, the experience I really wanted to have was one that involved a peaceful hike and breathtaking views that everyone, including the kids, would be wowed by.

And if that meant I had to resort to bribery, then bribery it would be. I wish I could say that we all suddenly became appreciative and zen-like after our meditative walk through the woods. No such luck.

But I was able to buy enough patience to last the rest of our trip and more importantly, briefly reconnect to that place of wordlessness that is as vital to our well-being as the oxygen we breathe. I’d like to think the kids got something out of it too.

And that’s money well spent!