So, how do you handle allowance?
- Give a set amount once a week on the same day every week.
- Tie the amount to age and predetermined needs.
- Let your children "overhear" you talking to another adult about how you had to save several weeks (or months) for something or how you can't buy something specific because your saving for something more important later. (I'm not going to buy a fast food lunch everyday now because I am saving for a new blender and if I take my lunch I can have a new blender in 3 weeks)
- Do not give advances. If a child runs out of money or spend it unwisely, simply lead with empathy and then reply, "That's okay don't worry, we give allowance on Saturday morning. You'll get more then. "
- A child may choose to use their allowance to pay someone else to do their chores. If a child does not do their chores, you can deduct from their allowance the amount you had to use to pay someone else to do it.
- It is okay, for you to pay a child to do chores you don't want to do that are above and beyond their own chores.
- What if they save their money and want to spend it on something you think is ill advised? Don't rob them of this valuable lesson. Be prepared in advance to give empathy.
3 comments:
Did the author of the Allowance write up mean to say, "As long as we're not talking about the value of money but rather soemthing you think they will grow bored with or that will break...don't rob them of this valuable lesson. Be prepared in advance to give empathy."
In other words, yes we can teach them about value by stopping them from buying something way over priced? But bore-dom and cheap things that will break are ok for them to buy and learn the lesson?
Thank you Anonymous! The author, me :), appreciates that my sentence structure in #7 needed improvement as did the clarity of what I meant. I have changed it in this new post.
However, there are two ways to approach the issue. Yes, parents should indeed teach children the value of comparison pricing. So the parent could say yes to the purchase but with a proviso that comparisons be done first. This also models delayed gratification.
However, sometimes experiencing consequences while the cost of the lesson is relatively small (the younger the better)is a great way for children to learn.
Also, I want to be clear, we were talking about the child's "own" money here not a purchase they were begging the parent to make for them.
Having said the above, I invite you to experiment with these ideas with the understanding that every parent has to figure out what works for them.
Thanks for the clarification...
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