Teaching Kids the Value of Money
My husband and I have a 12-year-old daughter who wanted to go to a winter retreat with her church youth group last year. Price of trip ? $45. I told her I'd talk to her dad about it. "HOW much is it?" he asked, "didn't she just go somewhere with the youth group?" "Yes," I replied, "and also to two friends' birthday parties. Another one is coming up this weekend." We both agreed that was a lot of money for us to spend for our daughter to have fun with her friends. But the retreat was a church activity. So we should have forked out the money for her go, right? Well, maybe. In the past year or so our daughter had made a lot of new friends and had been asked to be involved in a lot of new social activities. Last summer was the first year we could afford to let her go to summer camp for a week. It pleased me more than anything to tell her she could go. The more we've let our daughter go do things with her friends, the more she takes those things for granted, and expects more. She then resents doing something so menial as her household chores. So now we make sure her chores are done before she goes anywhere. "Room's not clean, laundry not started? Better hurry and do them before you go do something with your friends. Don't have time? Then I guess you're out of luck." But that was only the start. Whenever the attitude starts in she's given a warning and then privileges start being taken away, one by one. You have to figure out what works for you. You may have to teach each child individually, because each is motivated differently. If your children cheerfully hand over their allowance every time they don't take out the garbage, you should take some other privilege away. Resist the urge to give your children too much allowance. Don't buy them things that they can save money for themselves, like designer clothes, CD's, magazines, make up, video games, etc. Even young children can be taught to save for small things. Almost nothing makes me more sad than seeing children who take their allowances for granted and never have to work for it. Parents aren't doing their children any favors by teaching them to expect everything to be handed to them. We sacrifice, and they don't appreciate it. Why should they? They don't have anything to lose. So did our daughter get to go on her retreat? We decided she could go if she paid $20 of the $45. She was not happy about it. She only gets $3 a week allowance, and she was saving her money for a new CD. She stewed about it for awhile, and then forked over what money she had. We worked out a payment schedule for her to come up with the rest of the money before the weekend of the retreat, and we let her do extra chores to earn a few more dollars. Are we guilty of child abuse? Our daughter thinks so, but her dad and I know better. About The Author Rachel Paxton is a freelance writer and mom of four. For more
inspirational articles and tips for everyday living, visit her
web sites at http://www.creativehomemaking.com and
http://www.christian-parent.com
Related News
iParenting Media Awards Announce Greatest Products for Holiday 2008 - MarketWatch
Gay adoption ruling favors good parenting over sexual orientation - Sun-Sentinel.com
Keep dads in kids' lives; urge shared parenting after divorce - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
Read and be seen: parenting skills for dads - Great Dad
The TV channel to good parenting - Melbourne Herald Sun
Positive Parenting Practices May Prevent Aggressive Behavior Among ... - AAP Grand Rounds (registration)
Bourdain dishes about parenting, food - Clarksville Leaf Chronicle
Bourdain dishes about parenting, foodClarksville Leaf Chronicle, TN -21 hours agoBy SUZETTE LABOY • AP • December 1, 2008 MIAMI BEACH — After spending years introducing television viewers to unusual eats from around the globe, ... |
Should Schools Close on Inauguration Day? - Washington Post
Should Schools Close on Inauguration Day?Washington Post, United States -13 hours agoLet us know in the comments here or on the On Parenting blog. Stay on top of the latest from Inauguration Watch! This easy-to-use widget is simple to add to ... |
Learning Parenting 101: Better Late Than Never - Hartford Courant
Learning Parenting 101: Better Late Than NeverHartford Courant, United States -8 hours agoWelcome to Parenting 101, a two-part introduction to the fundamentals of effective child-rearing. Upon passing this course, which will conclude with next ... |
Parenting: The Idle Parent - Telegraph.co.uk
Telegraph.co.uk |
Parenting: The Idle ParentTelegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom -20 hours agoIt is highly critical, for example, of full-time day care for small children, arguing that, in the early years, the child needs its parents to be close by. ... |
|
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Protect your Kids Early with Safety Glasses
What exactly makes safety glasses different from regular glasses? There are several reasons glasses will be rated as safe. They must not only cover the front of the eyes but also the top and sides as well so small particles can't enter the eye. You can find inexpensive shields from a home improvement store that will also go over your regular eyeglasses. These types of glasses fog easily making them difficult to see out of. Safety glasses with polycarbonate lenses are very protective and more comfortable if professionally fitted. There is an industry ANSI standard that must be adhered to if glasses and frames can be rated as safety. They need to be sturdy and survive a test where a ball is dropped on the lens. Whatever job you have where safety glasses are required, you will know if you need high impact or basic impact lenses.
Parenting Your Teenager: Teens and Violence
I have a bit of a different response than most therapists to the often asked question:
Parenting Your Teenager: The Bottom Line Issues
Q. When you consult with a family with teens, what are the typical bottom-line issues?
Breastfeeding, Its My Right
My name is Duncan and I'm 2 years old. I want to thank my Mommy and Daddy for choosing breastmilk as my only food for my first six months. It turned out I had lots of food allergies that lead to ear infections. I would have been a very sick baby if I hadn't gotten the very best food for babies.
End Babysitter Abuse
Not many things are more upsetting than discovering that your child has been abused, in any way, by your babysitter. People think that to be a babysitter means you must be a nice person. WRONG! Some of the nicest people turned out to be Serial Killers, so don't ever give a Babysitter the benefit of the doubt.
Are You Frustrated With Public Schools?
Join a growing number of parents and teachers!
Illegal and Legal Drug Usage in the United States
How bad is the illegal drug problem here in the US? Very bad and it alters the brain's thought process and causes a problem with human interaction and our natural socializing tendencies. The drugs are so diverse and so plentiful that it touches the lives of nearly every American in some way and certainly nearly every family in this country. We must be honest with ourselves. We have legal drugs, prescription drugs and illegal drugs. Caffeine is a drug that is wide spread in America. The verdict is out now, but what will we learn in the future after twenty years? After all there is a Starbucks on nearly every corner in many of America's largest metropolitan areas. We already know that spiders cannot spin a web while under influence of caffeine.
Child ADHD - Deciding Where to Draw the Line
The wonderful adaptability of children in dealing with the challenges of this ever-changing and unpredictable world is really amazing. Their growth from a state of familial security and dependence through progressive stages of self-direction and personal autonomy requires enormous and almost anti-gravitational efforts on their part. Children must integrate a continuous changing picture of themselves with a world characterized more and more by conflict, competition and change.
The Twenty-First Century Parent
John was a 43 year-old sales manager at a large company. He's married and has 3 children, ages 7, 9, and 12. His wife works part-time as a nursing assistant, and they both do as much as they can to parent their children well.
10 Points on Children for the New Parent
I remember when my daughter was born, later my son. According to many well meaning individuals, I should've done this, should've done that and maybe improved in some areas.
Beyond the Words, a Childs Voice
Voices have a way of falling into a pattern, not unlike the sound of constant rain. At first, the rain is obvious as it dramatically announces its arrival, and for a brief moment, you acknowledge the intrusion. But slowly, the rhythmic sounds fade into the background, becoming nothing more than a distant drone.
Exposing the Damage: TV and Kids
There are millions of young children in this
country who are being terribly mistreated by their
parents.
Twin and Multiple Births are on the Rise
Did you know that the number of twin births have more than doubled since the early 1970s? Today, about one of every 35 births in the United States are twins. Even more significant is the number of triplet and higher multiple births which have increased 200 percent over the last three decades.
Drugs and Violence In Public Schools
Many public schools not only fail to educate our children, they can also be dangerous places. These schools are a natural breeding ground for drugs and violence. Children are packed into classrooms with twenty or more other immature children or teenagers, all the same age. Here, peer pressure becomes socialization, pushing many children into using drugs and alcohol.
25 Things That Matter When Relating To Our Children (Leaving A Legacy Of Love To Those We Love)
In my opinion, these things matter...
The Cost of Competition on Kids
The subject of competition is one that provokes some pretty strong feelings in the United States. In fact, even hinting that competition might not be such a great thing can cause one to be labeled un-American.
How Much Water are You Wasting?
Are you being smart about water conservation? Do you consider yourself an environmentally conscious person? Well, how do you wash your car? Do you do it in your driveway? If you wash your car in your driveway with a garden hose and shut-off nozzle, you will use five gallons of water to fill your soap bucket to get suds. You will then wet down your car for two minutes or more, soap your car and then rinse the car for four minutes or more. If the garden hose has 60 PSI of pressure or more it puts out a minimum of ten gallons of water per minute (GPM). The total amount of water usage is as follows:
What is Hyperactivity in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?
Most of the ADHD kids that are seen in a private practice setting are hyperactive kids simply because they get into the most trouble. Their parents are usually pulling their hair out and saying, "We've got to get this child some help." The sad truth is that if a parent is going to spend money to get treatment for his kid, that kid's usually got to get into trouble first. So that's why hyperactive kids are seen the most in treatment.
Child Safety at Home
Maintaining a safe home environment for your children
The Most Innovative New Approach for ADHD, a Natural Remedy
What's new and effective in the treatment of Attention problems? A powerful intervention that is clinically tested with computerized testing, not merely parent reports, has been available to the public since 1997, but is little known.
|
