Pricey Dave,
I’m attempting to wrap my head round your fee methodology of giving cash to children. We’ve an 11-year-old and a 16-year-old. Ought to they’ve particular person lists of duties, or ought to there be one large record they each work from on a first-come, first-served foundation? Additionally, ought to giving, spending and saving be a compulsory a part of the fee construction? Is there a time when kids ought to age out of the fee construction?
Camilla
Pricey Camilla,
I actually just like the “age out” a part of your query. So, let’s take a look at your entire state of affairs as an evolution. For starters, you must train children to work and handle cash early, however at an age-appropriate stage. We don’t ship 3-year-olds to the salt mines. We may ship a 16-year-old there … I’m kidding, after all. However it’s not unfair to count on extra of a 16-year-old and train them with extra sophistication and element than you’ll a preschooler.
In the event you inform a 3-year-old to wash up their room, these of us who’ve had children that age know the kid will put away two or three toys — and also you’ll do 90% of the particular work. Then, the child will get numerous high-fives and reward for being one of the best room-cleaner on the planet. Oh, and right here’s a greenback for doing one in all your chores.
The purpose at that age is to show them to make an emotional connection between work and cash. Work creates cash. It’s a easy idea, however I nonetheless discuss to of us of their 40s and 50s daily who can’t appear to know the thought. After that, you possibly can transfer on to issues which can be slightly extra sophisticated. You must clear the room your self. It’s your flip to feed the canine. And duties get slightly larger, and little extra sophisticated. This can be a nice time to introduce them to the makes use of for cash — I’m speaking about giving, saving and spending — and how one can do all three.
By the point they’re 16 or so, they need to know sufficient about cash and how one can deal with it correctly which you can assist them open their very own checking and financial savings accounts. Cosign on the accounts for them, and as they start making more cash by issues like after-school and summer season jobs, they’ll observe managing their funds on a distinct stage with parental oversight.
However the actual level behind the fee construction is that this: In the event you do the work, you receives a commission. In the event you don’t do the work, you don’t receives a commission. Once they’re youthful, and possibly don’t need to do a job right here and there, that’s okay. They’re children. What you’re doing is new to them, and it’s a studying course of. But when it goes on for a few weeks, or they determine they’re simply not going to do something — that’s not an choice. They’re going to study to work.
Camilla, my aim as a father or mother wasn’t to lift nice children. It was to lift children who turned nice adults. In my thoughts, dad and mom do their children an terrible disservice in the event that they don’t train them how one can be mature, functioning adults in the actual world. And dealing with their funds correctly, together with studying the worth of labor, is a large a part of that.
— Dave
