Kids, Chores and Finances – a Concise Approach to Teaching These Lessons
As children grow up and start to establish their own ways of approaching the many challenges which come with life, the best that you can do as a parent is to equip them the best tools they can use to navigate those challenges. Whether we like it or not, there are just some things in life which we all have to do, two of which are managing our finances and engaging in some sort of activity which you’d probably rather not be doing, like going to a job or completing chores.
That’s why one of the dynamics of life is indeed getting the kids to help out with the chores around the house, while another one is that of teaching your kids how to be savvy with money. While these are two different lessons which need to be taught, there is absolutely no reason why you cannot and should not combine them into one lesson, not only to save time and effort, but also to deliver each of these lessons in the best way possible, that being demonstrating just how interlinked they actually are.
EARNING extra pocket money
You really need to get all the way on board with this approach if it’s going to work out for you in the intended manner. Basically, you’ll give the kids an opportunity to earn extra pocket money through chores, but it would naturally have to be through extra chores and not necessarily those which they have to do in any case.
On the most basic of levels, this teaches them that there are just some things they have to do in this world for their own wellbeing and livelihood, even though at this stage in their lives their livelihood doesn’t depend on those specific chores. Simple things like picking up after themselves are a given, while others might require you to specifically instruct them to complete. I can bet you a million bucks right now any of your kids have to be reminded to wash the dishes when it’s their turn or mow the lawn like they promised they’d do.
So these regular tasks which must be completed remain as they are, but introducing the financial management aspect to it can perhaps come in the form of a points-based system which is used to exchange points earned from completing extra chores with cash. You can really go to town on this one and prepare “payslips” and the likes for disbursements of the earned cash, paying it into their bank accounts to teach them how to manage their money in line with how it’s done in the “real world.”
Payments should be made out at a set time, like at the end of each month or bi-weekly for instance. This will ensure they don’t only decide to kill themselves with extra chores only when they really want something on the spot, the records of which are kept by you and updated after you’ve evaluated the gravity of the tasks they’ve chosen to complete.
It doesn’t have to be a permanent arrangement either, but one which is instituted periodically.