While the concept of want vs. need is fairly basic to economics, I’ve recently learned it is not quite as basic for a 7-year-old boy. Or more specifically, my son.

Lately everything is a need for him. Among the recent items he claims to “need” are the latest baseball video game, a new baseball bat, the baseball jersey for whichever player he’s decided is his favorite that week, and more baseball cards. (If it’s not obvious … he loves baseball.)

So we started having a lot more discussions about want vs. need. The most basic example I could think of to help him understand this concept was water. When I asked him if water is a want or a need, he gave me an eye roll and said, “Obviously water is a need, Mom.”

And he’s right. Humans can’t live without water.

Then I realized the want vs. need of water wasn’t a bad lesson for me to brush up on. For example:

• Do I need long showers? No (but I sure want them some mornings).
• Do I need my lawn to be a deep shade of green all summer long by drenching it with water? As much as I love the color greenery, my lawn does not need to look like the dark end of a green paint chip — we do live in a dry climate, after all. And there are steps to take when I see brown spots.
• Do I need to set my automatic sprinkler system in the spring and not think about it again until the fall? No. Even though my controller never ceases to confuse me, I still change the watering times throughout the summer.
• Do I need safe, clean water for cooking, bathing and drinking? Yes, and I consider myself lucky to live in a place where this isn’t an unmet need.

My son seems to have reluctantly accepted that his wish list is full of just wants. And I have not-so-reluctantly reminded myself that I can use water wisely without sacrificing any of my needs.