Many parents are confused as to when to teach their children the value of money.
Smartchoiceparenting shows you how.
Pocket money can be introduced once a child is able to talk. Both pocket money and responsibility should be increased as the child gets older.
A 2-year-old can earn a brown coin and a silver coin (R1.50) per day by taking their plate to the table and then taking it off from the table when they’ve finished eating.
A four-year-old could earn R4 per day by doing simple chores such as feeding the animals.
A five-year-old could earn R5 per day by doing more complex chores such as making their own school lunch (R3) and setting the table (R2).
A six-year-old could earn R6 per day. A guideline is that your child earns x Rand per day according to their age.
Chores can include taking a plate back to the kitchen for the toddlers to more difficult chores such as cleaning up dog poo, feeding and giving water to the animals. Loading and unloading dishwasher, setting and taking off from the table.
You can place a value on each chore but they shouldn’t be allowed to earn too much. Initially, especially if the children are pre-teen, pay them daily after supper.
As you become more familiar with the system you can then pay them weekly. Never pay them monthly as they will find it almost impossible to budget for the month.
Buy them a wallet or money box where they can keep their hard-earned cash. which then can be saved.
This helps children learn to manage money.
Only buy them presents for their birthday and on a religious holiday.
If they want an item such as a toy, they need to save for at least 3-6 months and then you can contribute the difference to enable them to buy the toy.
Ensure that when you go out shopping or to a restaurant with the children that they bring their pocket money. This means if they see something that they want and they have enough money they can buy it.
If they don’t have enough money means that they will just have to save harder in order to have enough money for the next time you go shopping.
It also means that when you go out to a child-friendly restaurant, their pocket money can be used to buy a toy meal or a toy from a dispensing machine. This will avoid all nagging.
Also, if you choose to go to a movie with the children, you pay for the tickets and popcorn but they will have to pay for a Coke if they so wish.
Your child can also earn R3 per day for making their own lunch. If they want to buy from the school tuck shop, they buy the food with their own hard-earned money.
As they become teenagers, they will need to earn more pocket money. In order to do this they can choose to:
- Wash a car for R50 (R25 for washing and R25 for vacuuming,
- and make a full meal for the family (R50). This will include cleaning up and washing all the plates and utensils after the meal.
- Cleaning the swimming pool (R25)
- Unpacking and packing away groceries (R15)
Chores must not be confused with duties, as duties are not negotiable. Duties are responsibilities that children must do, such as cleaning their rooms, not leaving things lying around, bathing, and brushing their teeth.
You can also help them open a savings account at the bank for money saved.