By KATE HUNTER
I’ve always thought it odd that baby clothes often feature pockets.
What on earth are they for? Most of them don’t have iPhones until they’re at least seven or eight years old, and they have no need for money as they have, you know, parents.
I was joking about the iPhone bit, sort of, but the money part is serious. Most kids look at their parents as kind of walking ATMs. Not that the kids have no money – they do, some have hundreds of dollars accumulated from birthdays and Christmases; nice little stockpiles that will, very soon be serious enough to buy an X Box or an iPhone 5. Kids know exactly what the latest technology costs, and whether it’s cheaper at Big W or JB HiFi; but ask them how much a loaf of bread costs and you’ll often be met with a blank stare.
As a 7 year old I knew exactly how many lollies 20c bought. Thanks to mum trusting me with running errands from a young age, I was not only familiar with the price of a pint of milk but also Benson and Hedges Extra Mild. It was the seventies, after all.
Something has happened in the last thirty years. Kids seem to have more money, but less nous about it. Credit cards are as familiar as cash and 5 year olds playing shops can be heard to say ‘Do you PIN or sign?’ What to do?
My school friend Lou is the richest source of parenting wisdom I know. Lou has 4 sons aged between 10 and 18 and she’s also a high school teacher. There’s not much she hasn’t seen or dealt with. Some kids, she says, are good with money, they get its power and its pitfalls. Lou says money is like anything – some kids have a gift for music, but without teaching and practise it’s never going to be that great. A little guidance is needed – and practice. Kids need to have money in their pocket, and they should be encouraged to spend it – at least some of it, on day-to-day living, not hoarded for the day when Mortal Combat 35 is released.
This is how – following Lou’s advice – it works in our family, at least in theory: Our kids are 6, 9 and 11. They receive weekly pocket money – $1 for each year of their lives. So the littlest gets $6 and the eldest gets $11 (less deductions for lost water bottles and school hats). I’m rubbish at maths but even I can manage that particular payroll.
Pocket money is payable on a Sunday afternoon after the ‘hour of power’ – a period when rooms must be tidied, the rumpus room bulldozed and laundry sorted. If you’ve seen the movie ‘Witness’ in which Harrison Ford and his Amish brethren erect a barn in a spirit of togetherness and community, imagine the exact opposite, and you’ll have some idea of what the Hunter ‘hour of power’ involves.
To some, it might seem that $6 a week is a lot for a six year old. Perhaps it is, but from it comes packets of chips at soccer on Saturdays, gold coin donations for free dress days at school, mothers day and fathers day stall gifts (Yay! Another fizzy bath bomb!) , Polly Pockets or whatever else is all the rage in Year 1.
Our kids know not to ask for a donut at the shops – or a dollar to throw into any given fountain. Money has a value. It’s amazing how quickly the desire for a rainbow Paddle Pop fades when she knows it will dig into money saved for a purple Zhu Zhu pet.
I’m not sure that’s teaching them how much a litre of milk costs, but it’s a start.
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Did you get pocket money as a kid? If you’re a parent, how do you teach your children the value of money?
Top Comments
We've done the pocket money for chores over the years with our kids, as well as gone through budgeting with the older ones. Personally I think tying pocket money to jobs helps create a work ethic in kids. I also think parents can be role models with money whether they mean to or not, kids do pick up on how you use your own money. Keeping a dialogue open with your kids, so that if they make financial mistakes (mobile phone plans anyone?), they can come to you for advice is also important as they grow.
When my children were in school they would get a dollar for each year of their age.
My kids were both very academic and they also did music, so I felt that music and their schooling was their 'job' and as such I didn't expect them to do any chores around the house. Their bedroom was their responsibility to clean but as I regarded it as their own personal space I wasn't bothered if they didn't clean it, I just shut the door.
When they got into high school I didn't believe in them having a part time job as again I felt that their education was their job. They both did very academic subjects that required a lot of effort and work on their part.
By the time my kids reached University they qualified for youth allowance, so I stopped having to give them any money.
Hi Catgirl, A few commenters have mentioned that they see their kids' education as their 'job'. Not sure I agree, but it's a really interesting proposition. I wonder if there's a post in it?
I don't agree either. I think you, as a parent also go to work. You work hard during the day, and that is your job. Just as a kid going to school and working hard could be perceived as being a "job". But that does not mean that household chores suddenly disappear because they're working hard during the day.
Does that make sense? Family responsibilities are a diffrent kind of work and I don't htink that because they go to school or have a part time job should exclude them from that.
I guess a lot of it depends on the type of kids you have (academically) and also your own family dynamic.
My kids left the house for school at 7:45am and returned at 3:45pm, (at 5pm if it was a school band day) which I agree is less hours work than an adult in the full time workforce. But by the same token they each did six TEE (university entrance subjects) subjects (it’s not called TEE anymore). They did physics, calculus, applic mathmatics, chemistry, English Lit and Indonesian. That was a big academic workload that resulted in a hyge amount of homework.
My daughter was also very musically inclined so she wasn’t sure if she would pursue music or science as a career. She plays two instruments, so twice a week after school she had an hour long music lesson and she also practised each instrument 45 minutes a day (even on her music lesson day)
All that didn’t leave much spare time. I was also aware of the “burning out” syndrome so what spare time my kids had I would rather they use to relax and read a book for pleasure. A side issue we didn’t turn a TV on during school term time so it’s not like they ever wasted time watching T.V.
If I had kids who weren’t so academically focused my attitude would have been decidedly different. If while I was running around doing all the housework they were playing computer games or wasting time surfing the Internet watching YouTubes or on Facebook I would have made them do household chores.
Kids who do easier subjects would have more free time that they can use to help around the household.
We are vegetarians and I thought that it was very important that my children learnt about food and how to cook, so during the school holidays they would take their turn at cooking the evening meal. I, my son, and my daughter would/do take turns in cooking for the night.