My Nephew's Best Purchase So Far
Do you have Johnny?
I have a Johnny and his problem is he never takes care of his money. Saving money is not fun to him so he simply doesn't do it. Once money comes into his life, he leaves it laying all over the house, wedged between cushions, swept under his bed, and who knows where else. When asked what happened to the $20 that grandma gave him, he starts thinking but just can't remember where he put it. Is it in his piggy bank? Is it on his desk? He doesn't even know if he has $20 to his name. Then comes the anxiety and tears when he needs $20.
When this toy came into his life (he bought it with his own money), he actually wanted to go looking for money and drop it in his ATM piggy bank. Watching his running total rise (on a Deposit) and fall (on a Withdraw) made all the difference. It was FUN to save! And keeping track of how much he had was almost automatic (coins get accounted for but bills must be entered manually). I couldn't believe the 180 degree turn around.
I interviewed my Johnny (9 years old) and this is what he said:
What do you like about it?
*It's FUN
*I want to put money in so I want to go find money (the running balance is intriguing to him)
*I like that it shuts off automatically because I always forget to turn it off. It preserves my batteries (2 AA comes with it)
*I like that you can only open it with my ATM card (adult's opinion: it says that you have your own PIN number but all it is is a hard plastic card you stick in a slot to open the money compartment; an adult can hold the card and approve any withdraws if you want to control Johnny's spending)
What don't you like about it?
Of course, since he decided to get it, he likes everything about it, but here's some things I, the adult, think they could improve:
*It doesn't automatically count the bills. I guess sticking some optics and computer in their would make it an expensive toy (my Johnny didn't seem to mind entering the bills manually)
*Sometimes the coin doesn't drop all the way in he has to push it in with his nails (I tried it knowing how to "flick it" in and it goes in fine, but kids might not have that "talent.")
*The money compartment is pretty small measuring roughly 2" x 2.5" x 5.5"
We got the Zillionz ATM Savings Bank which is eligible for Free shipping.
There are other Zillionz ATM available, too.
