Banana Pudding Pops

Banana Pudding Pops are a fun twist on an old favorite for the perfect Summer treat!

Can we talk about why is it SO HARD to teach your kids life lessons?

I mean, good grief. There are books on potty training and sleep training and making your own cheese and those diets where you only eat grains that are from the way olden days. Why is it so hard for someone to write the definitive book on how to teach Invaluable Life Lessons.

Also, if it could be under 100 pages, that would be great. I’m got limited time and a DVR full of Dr. Phil reruns that aren’t going to watch themselves.

Right now we are in the midst of a never ending struggle to teach the Value of Money. We have always been good about assigning daily chores and making Jon David earn money for things that he wants, but what has happened is that now he’s always wanting to “earn a quick five bucks” whenever something catches his eye. Yesterday there was some sale on Minecraft gems or whatever pixelated junk you buy that’s floating around on the interwebs, and he was in a panic.

“Mom, don’t you have ANY job I can do to earn a quick five bucks?”

Keep in mind I had just cleaned the house earlier and was in the midst of cooking dinner and talking my toddler down from a meltdown over miniature Frozen themed chocolate bars. So of course the last thing I felt like doing was dropping everything to invent a job worthy of earning five dollars to throw into cyberspace.

So I’m like, “no” and he’s like, “But I’m trying to earn my OWN money” and I’m like, “Look, there’s no such thing as a QUICK  five bucks. My allowance used to be less than that for a WEEK” and he’s like, “Well what is minimum wage nowadays?” and then my brain exploded.

Seriously, Summer vacation. Why are you such a jerk.

So what I need is a book that will succinctly explain how to teach my child to learn the value of money in a way that does not encourage him to expect to be paid an amount that is actually legal. I want him to be eager to work for pennies, and not just in a spurt when he needs the money RIGHT NOW, but regularly. Like, if he could just get up in the morning and start working every day and barely talking or asking questions and then be okay with being paid a quarter.

Can we figure that out, life?

In honor of nostalgia for a time when I was willing to rake leaves for an hour just to earn a quarter for the arcade (okay that never happened, but don’t tell my kid), I thought I’d make an old school treat. Pudding Pops, but with a twist — Banana Pudding Pops! I always loved Pudding Pops and I love banana pudding, so these simple, creamy treats have soft chunks of vanilla wafers all throughout. The kiddos loved them and they were a breeze to make!

I did not add banana slices to ours, but feel free to add them. I think they’d be great!

I used THIS popsicle mold and really liked it. It’s a great size and they popped right out after being run through warm water.

Enjoy!

Have a very happy Monday!