The Color of Money
Parents frequently approach me on the right way to handle their children in stores and other locations when the kids are acting up and begging for something they want. One of my recent posts on Hu2 also dealt with this issue.
Children are just like all adults. We all have wants and desires, but young children don’t have the resources ( money ) to purchase so they are relegated to pleading for their cause. Parents are the only source of income for most little children until they reach an age and physical ability to work odd jobs such as babysitting or mowing grass.
I support giving them an allowance, but linking every chore to an allowance is generally not a good method in making the child a productive and functional part of the family.
Most children are only dilligent in doing chores well for a very brief period of time because their attention span is so short. The first reaction of a parent is to stop giving them any allowance money at that point, but that initiates the original problem of begging all over again and doesn’t foster family unity.
So what do you do? Try this. I call it the Color of Money and it provides an excellent way for children to earn an allowance without a lot of the issues.
- Decide on the maximum monthly allowance amount.
- Give each child a simple annual pocket calendar.
- Give each child a few basic chores such as:
- Cleaning a certain area in the home.
- Making their bed and putting away their clothing.
- Doing homework immediately when requested.
At the end of each day have each child bring you their annual calendar and review their performance for that day.
You have three colors to mark their calendar with. A green dot on that date in their book means they did well, a yellow dot is fair and a red dot is for poor performance. If they have an issue with a poor mark they can discuss it right then and not whine about it at the end of the month long after the fact when memory has faded.
At month’s end simply collect the calendars and count the number of green, yellow and red dots for the month. Each green dot is about 3.33%, yellow is 2% and red is 1% based on the number of days in that particular month divided into the maximum amount of allowance money you decided upon.
The children are rewarded for their efforts and even if they do poorly they are still getting some money to spend, just not as much. Some children begin to compete to get those green dots and you, as the parent benefit without the headache of constantly reminding them to do their chores.
As a parent you are free to give each child a small bonus when they take on extra responsibilities on their own. This doesn’t have to be money. Instead treat them to a nice meal out or buy them something extra when the family is out shopping.
This with the SOCIAL BOOKMARKING CONSOLE