Why Isn’t Your Wish-List
Item a Good Idea?

If the DIMS SCORE® for a possible purchase or wish-list item isn’t 8 or greater, it won’t be recommended.

That doesn’t mean you can’t still ask for it, but before you do, you may want to try and boost your score by either doing a little more research, or a little more thinking about whether or not your wish-list item is really and truly age-appropriate, as well as fully aligned with your values. Learn more below.

For Items

1. If the item in question doesn’t tell the world what you want people to know about you, you cannot generate a DIMS SCORE® of 8 or greater. Moral of the story? Make sure your purchases are truly age-appropriate and aligned with your values. For example, if you don’t like broccoli, or classical music, why buy a t-shirt that has anything to do with either of those things?
2. You can boost your DIMS SCORE® by being willing to spend some of your own money. This tells people how important the purchase is to you.
3. You can boost your DIMS SCORE® by buying from a local manufacturer or retailer. This can reduce the carbon footprint (impact on the environment) of your purchase as well as support local businesspeople.
4. You can boost your DIMS SCORE® by knowing the return policy for the item in question. This is particularly important for purchases that have to be brought home before you can really know they will work well, such as shoes for an outfit you don’t have with you, or a piece of luggage that you want to be able to put all your camp clothes in. If you can’t return the item in question, is it worth the risk that it may not meet your needs after all?
5. You can boost your DIMS SCORE® by knowing what the warranty is for the item in question. This is particularly important for more expensive purchases such as a new phone or bicycle. What happens if it stops working within six months? Will the manufacturer be good about giving you a replacement?

For Experiences

1. If attending the event in question doesn’t tell the world what you want people to know about you, you cannot generate a DIMS SCORE® of 8 or greater. Moral of the story? Make sure you are asking to attend an event that is truly age-appropriate and aligned with your values. For example, if you don’t like broccoli, or classical music, why go to a broccoli festival, or classical music concert? The good news here? We’re all getting older, and what doesn’t make sense today, just might in another year, or two, or three. Recall that Second Graders rarely walk to school by themselves, but High School Students almost always do!
2. You have to know exactly when and where an event or experience takes place. Don’t waste your time asking to go to a concert if you don’t know where it takes place and on what date. Of course this lack of information lowers your DIMS SCORE®.
3. You have to be able to get to an experience and back safely. Naturally parents are not in favour of events that lack safe and/ or cost effective transportation options. Sure, if you are with a friend, you can often “Get an Uber”, but what will that cost at midnight on a Friday? Is surge pricing that crowds out next week’s Pizza Dinner worth it? Can you “earn” a drive home from a concert in the next county by being willing to fold the laundry your Dad usually saves for when he is watching “Hockey Night in Canada”…because now he’s going to be driving you and your friends home from One Direction?
4. You can boost your DIMS SCORE® by being willing to spend some of your own money to attend the event in question. This is one way to show your parents how important the event is to you.
5. You can boost your DIMS SCORE® by participating in an experience that helps you build a skill.  Parents like it when their kids are learning life skills, so if attending the experience or event in question allows you to become better at taking public transportation, reading a map, or practicing time management, your DIMS SCORE® can be slightly higher.