Back in the day, like way back in the day, there was this thing called bartering where say you’d trade some eggs from your chickens for a loaf of bread someone else made. Now, instead of trading items, we trade money to pay for things.

It’s a fairly easy concept to grasp, but when you’re a little kid buying something with your own money fro the very first time, it can be especially painful to see your money disappear.

In this story, one retail worker sees a father teaching his little boy about money. It’s sweet, sad and heartbreakingly relatable all at the same time.

Keep reading for all the details.

Dad tries to teach his kid about money and buying things, kid doesn’t -quite- grasp it.

I only worked retail for a short while a couple years ago, but this always stuck with me.

I was working as a cashier at a toy retailer when a guy comes to the counter, hands me an action figure, and tells his 3-4 year old son “Give the man your money now, so he can ring you up.”

The little boy beams up at me, hands me the bills and tells me “That’s my money. I earned it by doing chores.”

I smiled back and thanked him, rang him up, put the cash in the register, and handed him back the bagged toy.

The kid didn’t completely understand what was happening.

At this point, he suddenly becomes distraught.

“Can I have my money back now?” he asks, as it slowly dawns on him what “buying” actually is.

He dad laughs and I tell him “Well bud, you give me the money and I give you the toy. That’s how you buy things, that’s what money is for.”

The kid is having none of it.

Poor kid (literally and figuratively).

“But that’s MY MONEY!” he shouts. “I -NEED- it!”

At this point both the dad and I are a little embarrassed, and he thanks me and quickly ushers his son out of the store, bag in hand and still confused.

I still feel that way after I pay bills sometimes, little guy.

It can be hard to learn how money works when you’re a little kid, but it sounds like he’s grasping the concept. And, yes, like OP, I can still feel that pain when making a purchase or paying a bill.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a stepmom who says stepson isn’t doing enough, despite the fact that he’s working 12-hour shifts to pay for his own college.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

It only buying something really did work this way!

This person makes a good point.

It’s so relatable!

One person explains why the boy probably thought he would get his money back, and it makes a lot of sense.

I feel bad for the dad having to explain the situation to the kid as they left the store. It’s so sad that the little boy was heartbroken.

If I had been the parent, I probably would’ve explained the situation in the store, depending on their return policy. I would’ve told the child that he has a choice. He can keep the toy, or he can return the toy and get his money back. He can’t have both. He has to choose. Maybe he would’ve chosen the money, and that would be a good lesson about saving.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a man whose celebratory post-grad school vacation is being ruined by his family’s insistence he’s being lazy.