One Day my Daughter said “Dad I want some money.”

My wife Stefanie and I always wanted to ensure we would teach our kids about money. However I was shocked at this statement from a 4 year old. I want to save money why shouldn’t she.  I smiled and asked what she wanted it for. It was for some small thing she had seen at a friends house and wanted one too. I suggested to her that if she wanted some money I would trade her effort for my money. When I asked her how much she should get she said; “How ’bout 4, cuz Im 4.” That seemed fair enough to me. Stefanie, my daughter and I decide on a few simple chores. Her chores include helping set and clear the table and cleaning her room (to the best of her ability.)

What happened next?

What happened next was really interesting. She began volunteering to help. When we clean the house she picks up a dust rag, and last week we caught her emptying the dish washer of her own free will! I was super proud! I really believe that one of my jobs as a dad is to ensure my children are capable. To me that means letting them try, and insisting they help.

 

 

An interesting opportunity to teach our kids about money.

My wife and I want to teach our kids about money. So an interesting opportunity came out of this when her cash began to pile up. I realized I had a teachable moment on my hands. I think its madness that we tell children things like “money is the root of all evil!” and then send them into the world to make a living. Aren’t charities, hospitals, and schools run with money? SO if my focus is making my kids capable and I don’t teach them about the most important object in the world then Ive failed.

Then what happened?

We began to talk in simple terms about what money is and what it can do. My daughter will tell you that money can be saved or spent. In fact she has a piggy bank for saving and one for spending. Shes five now and we have made a few changes to this endeavor. We began talking about payday and on payday we reinforce why she gets paid, thank her for her efforts, and then place half her money in the save bank and half in the spend bank. We have also started to introduce the concept of charity. One super mom I spoke too said they introduced a 3rd piggy bank which is designated for giving and I will be stealing that idea for sure.There’s a ton of fantastic 3 part piggy banks on Amazon.

As of today…

As of today her pay cheque has gone up to $5 (she’s 5 after all). Sometimes she has her pay docked but mostly she does a good job. Her jobs around the house have become automatic for the most part and I’m proud to say she has once again tackled the dishwasher of her own free will. Although my son is only 2 we have started this with him a bit as well. He helps with setting the table and cleaning the house (he loves to clean floors and the Dyson stick vacuum is perfect for him) I think he’s a bit young to really grab this concept but I’m looking forward to teaching him too. If we don’t teach our kids about money, who will?

 

 

Happy Dadding everyone.