Needs and wants: how to explain it to a child
A need is something you can’t do without: food, water, shelter, school shoes, medicine. A want is something nice to have: sweets, a new game, the branded bag. Teach it with things your child sees every day, sort a real shopping list together, and talk about the tricky middle, like shoes that are a need and the expensive brand that’s a want.
- Need: you can’t live or learn well without it. Want: nice, but you’ll be fine without it.
- Most things have a need part and a want part: shoes vs. the branded shoes.
- Ages 6 to 8 learn it best through sorting games.
- Needs come first, then saving, then wants.
The simple definition
- Need: something you can’t do without to live, stay healthy and learn. Food, clean water, a home, clothes for the weather, school shoes, medicine.
- Want: something that makes life nicer, but you’ll be fine without. Sweets, toys, a new phone, a second pair of trainers.
For a six-year-old, put it even more simply: "Could you go to school tomorrow without it?"
The tricky middle
Real life isn’t neat, and children notice. These are worth talking through:
- Shoes: school shoes are a need. The expensive brand is a want.
- Food: lunch is a need. Chips and soda instead of githeri is a want.
- A phone: for a teenager who travels alone, some way to call home may be a need. The latest model is a want.
- Data: for schoolwork, partly a need. For hours of TikTok, a want.
The lesson isn’t that wants are bad. It’s that needs get paid first, and wants are chosen, not grabbed.
Three games to play at home
- The shopping-list sort. Before the market or supermarket, read the list aloud and let your child call "need" or "want" for each item. Disagree sometimes, so they have to explain why.
- The KES 200 challenge. Give an imaginary KES 200 and a list of prices: bread, milk, sukuma, a lollipop, a toy car. Buy the needs first, then see what’s left for wants.
- The waiting game. When they ask for a want, write it down with the date. In a week, ask if they still want it. Most of the list will be crossed out.
Why it matters later
Every budget a teenager or adult makes is needs-versus-wants underneath. A child who learns to ask "do I need this, or want it?" at six is the adult who doesn’t take a mobile loan for a want at 22.
Where myKesho fits
Needs and wants is one of the first lessons in myKesho’s Money basics level, for children from age 6. It uses Kenyan examples, and ends with a question to ask at home. When your child asks to use their wallet money, the ask itself becomes the conversation: is this a need or a want?
Questions parents ask
What is the difference between needs and wants for kids?
A need is something you can’t do without to live and learn, like food, water, shelter and school shoes. A want is nice to have but not necessary, like sweets or toys.
What are examples of needs and wants?
Needs: food, clean water, a home, clothes, school shoes, medicine. Wants: sweets, toys, games, branded clothes, the latest phone.
At what age can children understand needs and wants?
From about age 5 or 6, especially through simple sorting games with things they see every day.
Lessons for your child
- Needs and wants: Tell needs from wants so your money lasts
- Wait a day before you buy: Why waiting helps you choose what you really want
- What is money?: What money is for and where it comes from
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