LilE has never really received money before. So this is a new journey for us in teaching her what to do with her money. I love how Dave Ramsey talks about teaching kids how to give, save, and spend. We just need to get some sort of system set up for her, break the money into smaller denominations, and get to teaching. Dave Ramsey wrote an article for the March issue of HomeLife saying "Your kids aren't going to wake up one day knowing how to handle money. They have to be taught."
Tell me about what system you use for saving, spending, and giving. Envelopes, jars, bank accounts?
Birthdays only come once a year. How is a 4 year old to earn money the rest of the year? This is where I really need some insight.
We have already started giving LilE things to do around the house. She empties the silverware out of the dishwasher, folds the socks, sets the table, and picks up her toys. But we need more of a checks and balances system for her to see what her responsibilities around the house are. Therefore I introduced the chore chart. I found this one, but I need to find some pictures that are more clear on what she is to do around our house.
I am torn between not paying her for being a part of our family and teaching her that in order to get paid, she has to earn her commission. Anyone else struggle with this? I want to teach her about how God provides for us and how we give back to what already belongs to Him. But I don't want to give her money just to teach.
Help me out, oh experienced moms! What have you found that is a balance between the two?
Hey!
ReplyDeleteWe are going through the same thing with the girls. I have also dragged my feet introducing chores and regular responsibilities to the kids. Then comes the issue of the allowance.
Steve and I are still discussing/praying about this issue... but right now we are looking at how some chores are non-allowance chores and some can earn money.
We really want to communicate to Elizabeth & Anna that 1) they are a part of our family and must contribute, and by no means can they get paid to do things that are their responsibilities as a member of the family... and 2) as soon-to-be children of God they must love and serve others without expecting anything in return.
So we will have some basic chores that the girls are daily responsible for, but then there will be other chores that when done can earn them some allowance.
Then we have a set of 3 containers that are attached and I will label it for the 3 categories of saving, spending & tithing.
I am eager to hear what other ideas others have on this!
I found a great chore chart that has both school and home responsibilities on it. You can change the responsibilities around as needed if you laminate and use magnets. The site is Notebooking Nook, I believe (at least that is what the footer is on the charts, I have it saved on my computer).
ReplyDeleteAnother great site is Handipoints.com, you can create any kind of system and make up your own jobs for the children. They create they own "avatar" if you will and can earn points for special prizes you decide on or they can "buy" clothes, etc for their character. Handipoints is strictly an online chart though.
We are also teaching our kids about debt, earnings, and tithing. I like the idea of the envelope system as that is what we will be using as well.
Another great post!! Thanks!
i'm not a mom but i found with my parents it helped that they gave me chores i had to do for being part of family, then "extra" stuff that i didnt have to do but if i did i would make X amount. so, its a choice.
ReplyDeletealso grades= allowance
Here is a chore chart I found.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.homeschool-curriculum-for-life.com/support-files/prereaderchildchorechart.pdf
It is a fine balance between helping them learn to contribute to the family and knowing when to pay. We have chores that everyone is expected to do and then Extra stuff that can be done for a commission....I can't wait til the get old enough to mow the lawn and do laundry for a small fee! :)