A new word has entered the teen lexicon. It's "no."

For the first time in their lives, wealthy American teens are hearing their cash-strapped parents utter the dreaded two-letter word. No new iPhone. No Xbox. No Juicy Couture for an A in chemistry. Parents who've never had to deny their progeny anything are suddenly finding themselves holding emergency family meetings and hovering over mountains of unpaid bills with their bewildered offspring.

The crash course in economics is causing more than a few growing pains. Discretionary spending among teens has dropped 27% since last spring, according to Piper Jaffray, an investment bank and research firm.

"I used to ask for things and my parents would say, 'We can't do that,' " Kaitlyn Postle told the New York Times. "So I would throw a tantrum and get an attitude. They used to give in a lot. But that doesn't work now." Now, she shops at thrift stores with the money she earns at her babysitting job. She can't wait to turn 16 so she can get a job at the mall.

The economic crisis might have the world reeling, but it seems to be having at least one positive effect: kids are learning the value of saving their money and discovering that maybe, just maybe, they can live without designer jeans.

Moms, have you noticed a change in how you shop with your kids? What are you doing to let them know that the gravy train is drying up?