像我这种平常不怎么说话的人，常常觉得说话太累了。

非必要情况，我是不说话的。

当然，如果真要说，我也能说。

只是大多数时候，脑子里虽然有很多想法，却找不到合适的出口。

除了偶尔写写东西之外，很多想法最后也就自己消化掉了。

还好，养出了个特别懂老母亲的娃儿。

有时候我话匣子一打开，他居然还能全程接得住。

⸻

那天，娃儿刚结束跟他小查表哥（cousin）的对话。

我赶紧把他叫过来。

“过来嘛，我跟你说说你现在的经济情况！”

毕竟如果跟他聊我的事情，人家十有八九不感兴趣。

只能从他的钱开始聊。

⸻

我说：

“你知道你现在有多少钱吗？”

娃儿立刻来了兴趣。

我告诉他：

“你现在有一千块在大学账户里面，还有一千块在储蓄账户里面。”

听到“一千”这个数字的时候，他眼睛亮了一下。

估计觉得挺多的。

不过很快又不满足了。

“这太少了！”

“我要一千万！”

“我要一亿！”

⸻

我说：

“可以啊，那你得自己赚。”

娃儿想了想，突然冒出一句：

“你可不能把我的钱弄爆炸了呀！”

我愣了一下。

后来才反应过来。

因为我帮他开的账户名字叫 Explore。

他大概把 Explore 听成了什么会爆炸的东西。

我笑着解释：

“那是 Explore，探索，不是 Explode，爆炸。”

娃儿一本正经地说：

“我是跟你开玩笑的！”

⸻

接着我开始跟他解释两个账户的区别。

“一个账户的钱，你随时可以拿出来花。”

“另外一个账户的钱，是以后上大学用的，现在不能随便拿出来。”

“但是它有一个好处。”

“它会平均每年长出大概百分之七左右的钱。”

⸻

娃儿眼睛又亮了。

“我喜欢生出更多的钱！”

接着立刻补一句：

“你可不能把我的钱弄没啊！”

我说：

“不会没啦，放心。”

⸻

然后我突然想到最近学到的一个概念。

于是问他：

“你知道赚一百万最快的方法是什么吗？”

娃儿想都没想。

“先有一千亿！”

⸻

我直接笑出来。

“是一千万！”

然后我们两个就这样站在那里自嗨。

⸻

我继续说：

“其实我也是最近才知道这些事情。”

“以前工作了十三年，都没人告诉我。”

“小时候我的爸爸妈妈也不会说这些。”

“不过我觉得，他们那时候可能也不知道。”

“所以现在我告诉你了。”

“你才八岁。”

“我可是三十八岁才研究出来的呀！”

⸻

说到这里，我忽然想到另一个概念。

于是问他：

“你知道我们现在不能做什么吗？”

娃儿看着我。

“不能做什么？”

⸻

我说：

“我们不能把所有的钱放在一个篮子里。”

“这样很危险。”

没想到娃儿马上接了一句：

“是的，这样就不会一下子全没了。”

⸻

听到这句话的时候，我还真有点震惊。

因为我明明在讲一个挺抽象的概念。

结果人家居然跟得上。

而且好像还真的听懂了。

⸻

于是我继续解释：

“所以我们现在是把钱放在最好的五百个篮子里面。”

“如果其中一个坏掉了，还有四百九十九个。”

“而且坏掉的那个很快会被换掉。”

“新的好的又会补进来。”

⸻

娃儿点点头。

“是的。”

⸻

我继续说：

“所以，你现在的责任是看好你的钱，不要被人骗走。”

娃儿问：

“如果有个人很穷，真的很穷很穷，向我借钱呢？”

我说：

“你不借，如果这个人生气的话，就说明你不借是对的。”

“如果他没生气，你就可以借。”

“但是前提是，借出去的钱，要做好拿不回来的准备。”

“只有这样，你才能借。”

娃儿认真地点点头：

“好！”

⸻

聊到最后，我忍不住问了一句：

“你觉不觉得妈妈很聪明？”

结果娃儿连一秒钟都没犹豫。

直接大声宣布：

“我比 Pingting Huang 还聪明！”

“我是全世界最好的孩子！”

“我是全宇宙最好的孩子！”

⸻

更好笑的是。

昨天体检结束后，我特别想吃一碗越南粉。

于是跟娃儿商量。

结果人家直接来了一句：

“这不是必要的花钱项目！”

⸻

我说：

“可是我们吃喜欢的东西也很值得呀。”

“体验和感受也很重要！”

娃儿立刻反驳：

“这钱花出去就没啦！”

⸻

这时我们刚好走到停车场。

他指着车说：

“你要把钱花在买车这种事情上。”

原来他的意思是：

钱花出去了，可是东西还在，才属于必要花的钱。

⸻

后来我换了个方式。

我说：

“那我请你喝星巴克饮料怎么样？”

他知道我平常买星巴克，很多时候都是用别人送的礼品卡，也就是不用自己花钱。

结果刚刚还反对消费的人。

一下子就答应了。

婷妈的亲子日常 创作于 2026.06.05

原创发布： tingtingma.com

写给孩子，也写给正在成长的大人。

未经授权，请勿转载。

Tingma’s Parenting Diary | 278. Such a Supportive Kid

As someone who doesn’t talk much in everyday life, I often feel that talking is exhausting.

If it’s not necessary, I usually stay quiet.

Of course, if I really need to talk, I can.

It’s just that most of the time, I have lots of thoughts in my head but can’t quite find the right way to express them.

Other than occasionally writing things down, most of those thoughts end up being processed on my own.

Thankfully, I somehow raised a kid who really understands his mom.

Sometimes, when I finally start talking, he can actually keep up with the entire conversation.

⸻

The other day, he had just finished talking with his cousin, Xiao Cha.

I quickly called him over.

“Come here. Let me tell you about your financial situation!”

Because if I try to talk about my own life, there’s a good chance he won’t be interested.

So I have to start with his money.

⸻

I asked:

“Do you know how much money you have right now?”

His eyes immediately lit up.

I told him:

“You have one thousand dollars in your college account and another one thousand dollars in your savings account.”

When he heard the number “one thousand,” his eyes got noticeably brighter.

He probably thought that sounded like a lot.

But he wasn’t satisfied for long.

“That’s too little!”

“I want ten million!”

“I want one hundred million!”

⸻

I laughed.

“Sure. Then you’ll have to earn it yourself.”

He thought for a moment and suddenly said:

“You better not make my money explode!”

I froze for a second.

Then I realized what he meant.

The account I opened for him is called Explore.

Apparently, he thought Explore sounded like something that explodes.

I laughed and explained:

“It’s Explore, not Explode.”

He replied very seriously:

“I was joking!”

⸻

Then I started explaining the difference between the two accounts.

“One account is money you can use whenever you want.”

“The other account is for college someday, so you can’t just take the money out whenever you feel like it.”

“But it does have one advantage.”

“On average, it can grow by about seven percent each year.”

⸻

His eyes lit up again.

“I like money that makes more money!”

Then he immediately added:

“You better not make my money disappear!”

I laughed.

“It won’t disappear. Don’t worry.”

⸻

Then I remembered a concept I had recently learned.

So I asked him:

“Do you know the fastest way to make one million dollars?”

Without even thinking, he answered:

“Start with one billion!”

⸻

I burst out laughing.

“Actually, it’s ten million!”

Then the two of us just stood there entertaining ourselves.

⸻

I continued:

“You know, I only learned these things recently.”

“I worked for thirteen years before anyone ever told me.”

“My parents never talked about things like this when I was growing up.”

“But honestly, I don’t think they knew either.”

“So now I’m telling you.”

“You’re only eight years old.”

“I didn’t figure this out until I was thirty-eight!”

⸻

That reminded me of another concept.

So I asked:

“Do you know what we should never do?”

He looked at me.

“What?”

⸻

“We should never put all our money into one basket.”

“That’s dangerous.”

To my surprise, he immediately replied:

“Right. That way you won’t lose everything all at once.”

⸻

That answer genuinely surprised me.

Because I was talking about a pretty abstract concept.

Yet somehow he was keeping up.

And it seemed like he actually understood.

⸻

So I continued:

“That’s why we put our money into the best five hundred baskets.”

“If one basket breaks, there are still four hundred and ninety-nine left.”

“And the broken one gets replaced.”

“A new good one takes its place.”

⸻

He nodded.

“Exactly.”

⸻

I continued:

“So your job right now is to protect your money and not let anyone trick you out of it.”

He asked:

“What if someone is really poor—like really, really poor—and asks to borrow money from me?”

I replied:

“If you say no and they get angry, that’s probably a sign that saying no was the right choice.”

“If they don’t get angry, then maybe you can lend it.”

“But before you lend money, you have to be prepared for the possibility that you’ll never get it back.”

“Only then should you lend it.”

He nodded seriously.

“Okay!”

⸻

Near the end of our conversation, I couldn’t resist asking:

“Do you think Mommy is smart?”

Without even one second of hesitation, he proudly announced:

“I’m smarter than Pingting Huang!”

“I’m the best kid in the whole world!”

“I’m the best kid in the entire universe!”

⸻

What made me laugh even more happened yesterday.

After my annual physical checkup, I was really craving a bowl of pho.

So I discussed it with him.

His immediate response was:

“That’s not a necessary spending item!”

⸻

I said:

“But spending money on things we enjoy can be worthwhile too.”

“Experiences and feelings matter.”

He instantly argued back:

“But once the money is spent, it’s gone!”

⸻

At that moment, we happened to be walking through a parking lot.

He pointed at a car and said:

“You should spend money on things like buying a car.”

That’s when I realized what he meant.

In his mind, money should be spent on things that remain after the money is gone.

⸻

So I changed my strategy.

I asked:

“What if I buy you a Starbucks drink?”

He knows that most of the time when I buy Starbucks, I use gift cards people have given me.

In other words, it doesn’t feel like I’m spending my own money.

The funny thing was that the kid who had been arguing against spending money just seconds earlier…

agreed immediately.

Tingma’s Parenting Diary
Written on June 05, 2026

Originally published at: tingtingma.com

Written for my child, and for the adults who are still growing.
Unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Originally written in Chinese by the author.
This English version was translated with the assistance of ChatGPT.