I gave my 11-year-old son, Morgan, $50 for his school fair. Hours later, his teacher called in tears.
“Please come. You need to see what he’s done.”
I arrived to find him wearing a paper crown behind a table marked FREE PRIZES.
After noticing children who couldn’t afford toys, Morgan had spent all $50 buying prizes for them. With his teacher’s help, he organized a joke game where everyone could win.
Then Hannah, a shy girl who struggled to make friends, stepped forward. Morgan patiently helped her tell a joke. Soon, she was laughing with children who invited her to play.
On our drive home, he asked, “Are you mad I didn’t buy anything for myself?”
“Did you have fun?”
“A lot.”
“Then you bought exactly what I told you to—something that made you happy.”
His idea became a regular school fair activity, supported by donated toys.
I’d given him spending money. He’d made sure nobody felt left out.