Earning Money...
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"Do you have a way for your kids to earn money? Could you elaborate on that?"
There was a time when we paid our children an allowance of sorts. Each child had a calendar. Their consequence for a minor offense was an X on the day of the calendar. After 5 Xs in a day, they lost their privileges for the day. Each day they automatically earned 50 cents because they were part of our family. For each X they earned, 10 cents was subtracted from the day's totals. Every Friday dad would come home with cash and the children would total their charts and report to dad for payment.
This worked really well for a long time, but as with any chart system, it was not meant to last forever, so it finally fizzled.
There are many philosophies on paying children. I don't claim to have the right one, but I will share what I think about money. I don't like paying children for things that help run the home, because they live there too. I don't want them to think that every time they lift a finger is deserves a reward, or worse that they have some how just made a business transaction with the family for acting as part of the family.
I prefer to either help them think up business ideas and follow through with them, or have a list of chores (or a jar full) that I will pay certain amounts for. These jobs are to be done after regular work is done. They require initiative. I don't think anyone should be paid for anything unless they had to have discipline and initiative to accomplish the task. If I have to nag a child to do a chore that they wanted payment for, they just chose to make the chore "service" instead of "employment."
I want my children to learn how to be people that can work and know when to work. They need to see a job well done has a value, but a job done half way or not completed is worthless. Of course this also means that I need to example jobs well done too. :)
My 12 year old son mows lawns for people in the neighborhood. He found the clients himself and schedules time into his weeks to get them done. My son also goes to work for his dad. My husband owns his own plumbing business, so he takes Quinton to work with him as often as possible to teach him the trade as well as give Quin an opportunity to earn money.
My 10 year old daughter just completed a neighborhood playgroup business. Starting in April and ending this week, she was paid by mothers in the neighborhood, of children 4-6 years old, to plan and host a weekly playgroup. She charged $15 for the Spring session and $25 for the Summer session. She had 6 children at our home for 1.5 hours once a week. She also learned how to plan, prepare, and what kinds of crafts, activities and lessons the children liked best. She did a fantastic job and earned good money. An adult was always with her of course because of her age. She is a very mature girl though.
My daughter also does paperwork for pay for my husband's business. It is nice to have REAL work for the children to be a part of.
We also collected cans one year to earn money to buy sports equipment for baseball and softball. I told them that if they wanted to play on these teams as well as their other activities, they would need to buy the supplies they would need. My children earned $200 collecting aluminum cans. Finally, my husband MADE them quit, because he couldn't handle the messy garage any longer.
It is good for children to earn money. It teaches them so much and is great preparation for adult life. The trick is helping them find opportunities to earn money. Try to see what they really know well and then see if there is a need in the community for their talents.
Oh, another thing. My parents made me pay for all clothes and supplies I needed as soon as I turned 12. I am profoundly thankful that they did that. I have always understood the value of a dollar, how to save money and what a good deal is, because I got to learn the hard way when I was young. I also learned how to make work a priority.
When my son turned 12 we told him he now gets the same opportunity to financially take care of his desires and needs. He didn't get really excited about this, but I have already noticed maturity growing in him because he can't leech off of us anymore for new stuff. He also seems to take better care of his things lately and he has become a much harder worker. Hmmm....
Mieke, Sorry I took so long
Mieke,
Sorry I took so long to reply to this. Some how I thought I did and then didn't. (blush)
Things are a bit different here in the U.S. First, in our country we don't get paid any benefit money for having children. The only people who get government money are the poor in our country. I know this is very different than many European countries. Each family pays for all the needs of their child unless they are deemed indigent by the state. (That answers number 3)
Item number 2, some children here are more mature than others. I think a lot of the maturity depends on how a person is raised. My children are really mature because of their homeschool atmosphere I think. They know they are responsible for their own success in life. They are responsibile for doing their own studies, and pulling their share at home. The older ones are responsible helping with the needs of the little ones. They know that they have to learn the skills they need to become successful adults. This is their goal.
I know this could sound like I don't do anything for them, but that isn't true. I am always working right with them. The difference is my children know they have no one to blame for their failures accept for themselves. They can't say they didn't have time or they didn't know, or I didn't help, because our system is always working.
I am also not afraid to give my children adult responsibilities. They really do pay for a lot of things, and do adult chores. They like it. Most children do. They want to see that they have what it takes to grow up. Have you noticed that many youth now days don't want to grow up? This is because they were given too much and not enough was expected of them. James and Hannah had this problem. You should have seen how empowered they felt when I taught them new chores and how to care for children and teach children. They said, "Do you think I could do this at home?" They were really excited.
My children, even the little ones want to earn money to pay for things they will want like to buy a friend a birthday present or something. Actually they get really offended if I say I am going to buy a friend a present. They want to use their own money and do it themselves. So, are all U.S. children more mature? No, just children who have parents who really teach their children the value of work. My children love knowing they know how to work.
Regarding issue number one. The United States government does not allow children to be employed by businesses on regular payroll until age 14. Usually, at 14 children only work for businesses owned by family and friends. At age 16, children are allowed equal employment opportunities.
So, how do my children get money then? My husband owns his own plumbing company. He pays my daughter to do his paperwork, and my son to come to apprentice plumbing work. They are not regular payroll, and under the law for family businesses, they are okay working. Also, my daughter babysits other people's children and my son has a summer lawn mowing business of his own. My small children like to sell produce which we grown during the season, and get paid for extra chores around the house and for helping me with my shipping of books etc. My oldest daughter is my shipping department and my two smaller children are her assistants. My oldest son is also a junior mentor for a boy in Canada. He helps him with his academics. My children are also starting to take piano students. So, as you can see my family has developed lots of ways for my children learn money management and self sufficiency.
Regarding your last question, I do allow my children to budget their own money and they all have bank accounts to do so. They don't have checking accounts.
They mostly pay for extra cirricular things, gifts, luxuries, and clothes after age 12. Everything else me and my husband take care of. If they need a new pair of shoes and don't have money they know we would buy them for them, but they wouldn't want us to. My son would feel offended if we bought his things he likes being self sufficient.
I hope this helps. Apparently cultures are a bit different here than there, but overall, I think the priniciple of teaching children to want to be self sufficient is a good one and hopefully we are all doing that. :)
Being a Belgian, I do not
Being a Belgian, I do not understand it completely. Do you mean that at 12 yrs old: one has a job that earns enough to pay for clothing and other extras?( such as nintendo, presents for birthday parties, hairdresser, shoes...). Is it allowed by government for children to earn money without punishing financially the parents? If my children would work outside the home and earn a pay at that age: 1. no shop or business will accept the child because of a very strict law (they consider it child labor, and both employer and parent will be punished) 2. here in Belgium our children are not that "mature" and 3. what do you do with your monthly child allocation? (from the state to the mother: in my case monthly arond 350€ for 2 children aged 6 and 10/PS Mine is higher because officially I live alone with them, on average arond 200€ for chilren the same age in family with 2 parents). Does the child budget the amount completely indepently, including banking?
Thanks for sharing. We have
Thanks for sharing. We have 10 year old twins and a 14 year old. We're collectively trying to figure out how they will all earn money. Some of them are more motivated than others but they need to do something. I like your thoughts.
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