Ah, fifth grade...finally homework starts getting fun for some of us!

My 10-year old son is currently studying general economics in social studies. The other night he called to me, stuck on giving a good, solid description of supply and demand. He was talking about lemonade stands for a while, but the teacher had already given that example at school. When I sat in silence, trying to delve into my liberal-arts education to come up with an answer and listening to him cry, "How else can I explain this? I need a good idea for tomorrow!"...It hit me...What would any other lactation consultant mom use to explain supply and demand? Milk production! After doing a little jig around the room, I sat down ecstatic to begin my lecture. He listened intently as I described the process of making milk..."The more the baby suckles, the more milk a mother will make"..."The quality of the baby's suckling tells the mother's body how much it needs at different stages and the mom will produce what the baby requires..." And I went on and on and on. (Once in a while I'd throw in a "do you know what I mean?" just to ensure he was listening.) Now it was time to put it all down on paper.

"Um, mommy? I'm not so sure this is what I want to share with my class."

For someone who has never been known to have a lack of words, I was speechless. Wasn't this the best and most amazing example of supply and demand? Shouldn't economics textbooks everywhere use this as the ideal?

He used the lemonade stand example.