As one can probably imagine, the boy did not buy the ice-cream, but instead found the right opportunity to begin describing this "special" basket and a while later he joined his friends again. The mother when the kid left the bench smiled and so did I. What I realized by witnessing this conversation between a mother and her son, was that kids when treated as adults, instead of listening to their parents yelling, and threatening their existence, can become responsible individuals and understand why some things value more than a simple buying impulse. It is not only when or how much you reward your child. It is also how you teach them why and when the money they received can be spent that counts. I hope I will remember the incident when my future kid asks me for that exciting, wonderful, but totally unnecessary thing.