The Texas Lottery Holiday Safety Tip Parents Should Know

It's the Christmas season, and people are busy shopping for gifts. Once the gifts are purchased, then it is time for the stocking stuffers.

Stockings are usually the last thing people think about. Don't get me wrong, Santa does a great job of stuffing those stockings. It's the little extras from Santa's elves that make them great.

However, Santa's elves get tired by the time stockings roll around, so the easiest choice ends up being scratch offs stuffed into those decorative stockings by the fireplace.

Why Scratch Offs Are Only for Adults

Don't get me wrong, I'm a strong advocate for scratch offs in the stockings because I've been surprised over the years with a couple hundred dollars that ended up in my pocket thanks to scratch offs.  But I only received scratch offs in my stocking as an adult and never as a child.

When it comes to gifting Texas Lottery scratch offs, you have to consider a few things before you start stuffing scratch offs into everyone's stockings.

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What the Texas Lottery Wants Parents to Know

The Texas Lottery wants you to know that their scratch offs only belong in grown-up stockings. Texas Lottery scratch off tickets are not for kids. In fact, you have to be at least 18 to purchase lottery tickets in the first place.

The Risks of Kids Receiving Lottery Tickets

The Texas Lottery has done extensive research and has found that gambling during childhood years has a high correlation with developing gambling problems later in life.

If, for some reason, a child gets a scratch off and wins a large prize, it just becomes somewhat of a nightmare for the guardian because if it is over a certain prize range, then taxes become involved.  Kids are already bouncing off the walls. They don't need to add odds and statistics to the mix.

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Safer Stocking Stuffer Options for Children

So when it comes to stocking stuffers and gifts this holiday season, stick to candy, toys, and video games for the kids.  Keep the lottery tickets for the adults.

Maybe it's time to have a talk with Santa's elves and let them know that you can find so many other cool stocking stuffers for kids that don't involve any kind of adult game.