Father Goes All Out For Daughter's Book Fair Since His Childhood Book Fair Experience Was 'Traumatic'
This father is proving that generational trauma does not have to exist in a continuous cycle.
Prostock-studio / Shutterstock The school book fair is like a rite of passage for kids growing up. Unfortunately, some children don’t come from families with enough money to afford those luxuries.
After one man had a horrible experience at the book fair growing up, he decided his daughter would never feel that way.
A father with bad memories of his own childhood book fairs decided his daughter would not go through that.
One dad from @theblackbarrys on TikTok described his “traumatic” experience of not being able to afford books from school book fairs while growing up.
“Now, if y’all was a little broke kid like me, the book fair was a [expletive] nightmare!” he exclaimed.
“I had to watch all those little kids get the scratch-and-sniff erasers, the bookmarks, and the books. Not my baby!” he insisted.
“My baby getting everything she want,” Barry said. “I told her, ‘Circle what you want, baby, and Daddy gonna get it for you.’”
Barry then showed the book fair advertisement that his daughter brought home from school. She had circled over ten books and posters, signifying they were things she wanted to purchase.
Barry was prepared to buy them all for her. He explained that his daughter’s school did not allow students to bring in cash to pay for items at the book fair.
“They have an app where you load up money onto their cart, and they go shopping,” he explained. “And if they run low on money, the teacher can text you and be like, ‘Hey, they need more bread.’”
Alexander Grey / Pexels
Despite this pretty ingenious way of covering the kids’ book fair costs, Barry said it was not necessary for his child. “My baby’s not even gonna have that moment where she runs out of money!” he stated. “I put, like, $200 on that jug, bro.”
Barry was ecstatic for his daughter to arrive at home so he could see what she spent her book fair money on.
Barry’s daughter’s book fair haul turned out to be a bit of a disappointment.
One of Barry’s TikTok viewers requested that he film a “book fair haul video.” He was happy to oblige, and excited to see how his daughter had spent the large sum he allotted for her to use at the book fair.
Unfortunately, Barry was disappointed.
After his daughter circled more than ten items in the advertisement, she came home with only three books.
She seemed completely unperturbed, but he was not. “Don’t worry,” he assured her. “Me and Mommy are going with you tomorrow. And I’m gonna show you how to properly shop at the book fair, ‘cause I couldn’t do it.”
Kids are actually highly affected by the amount of money their family has.
It may seem easy to assume that children don’t have a firm enough grasp of money to really be impacted by how much their family does or does not have, but evidence shows that is not accurate.
The American Psychological Association said, “Children are more likely to face mental health problems if they grow up in a family that is low income or has significant debt, factors with long-term consequences, psychologists say. Kids report feeling stress and anxiety, guilty for not being able to help, and embarrassed about being unable to afford what their peers can.”
Ricky Esquivel / Pexels
Although young children may not understand money as clearly as those older than them, they can see differences and comprehend that they have less than somebody else.
These things can be seriously damaging to kids as they watch their friends and extended family members get “more” or “better” than what they have. The feeling of embarrassment that comes along with this reality sounds like what Barry described.
Barry’s wholesome videos show that generational trauma does not have to continue. Instead, parents can use their resources to offer their kids a better life than the one they had.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news and human interest topics.