Hello Friends, My 5-yo son doesn't really understand the value of money yet, but he is ready to learn and DH and I are ready to teach him. While he already has a few daily chores he must do, we want to give him extra chores to be able to earn some money, and we're in total agreement about that. My idea, though, is that I want to require him to allocate his earnings from the very beginning for tithing, saving, giving, and spending. I think it would be a great way to teach him about being generous with the resources God gives us to give him the opportunity to choose how he wants to give, whether it be supporting missionaries, giving to the local food pantry, buying a toy for Toys For Tots, or even a gift for a friend. And as far as saving goes--well, if he gets into the habit early, I hope it will carry into adulthood. DH and I are Dave Ramsey fans, and wish we had discovered him early in our marriage. I know Dave Ramsey has some kids books that talk about these themes, and I am saving up my Swag Bucks Amazon credits to be able to buy them . Anyway, I want to teach him (and all our kids) that being good stewards of what God provides us IS the value of money. DH, however, thinks that is a little much (he looked at me like "You've GOT to be kidding me). He looks back at his own childhood of setting a goal for an item that he wanted, working his tail off to earn the money to buy it, and then finally reaping the rewards in the end as a great way of teaching him to be a hard worker. He thinks that requiring him to give will only breed resentment rather than generosity. And we need to be in total agreement before we set forth on enabling our son to start earning. So my question is... how have you taught your kids about money? If you implemented an idea like mine, did your kids learn as you intended or become resentful that their hard-earned money was already spoken for? If you backed off and let them just earn to spend as they pleased, did they take it upon themselves to use their money to give generously without being asked, or otherwise surprise you with wise choices? Do you wish you had done something differently? TIA!
God comes first! My kids have always given to God no matter how little they earned, and they do so cheerfully. I don't even have to tell them to do it. Working hard and saving is great, but if kids aren't taught to give to God first, they'll end up like the man who tore down his barns to build bigger barns (me, me, me, me, ME!) and forget about God. Hard work is great, but the ability to work comes from God.
From the time my girls were little.. like one yrs old... we always taught them to tithe. Now, they do it without thought. My girls earn a little money helping me out in our home daycare and also from cleaning the church. they always ask us to make change for them so they can pay their tithes. teach them God first!
Oh, let me clarify--yes, our kids will need to tithe! It's the separate allocations for other giving and savings that are in question.
Children learn by example. Live what you want him to learn. Start sharing why you do what you do. When he gets a bit older, then start tossing in Dave Ramsey. But be careful not to give your kiddo more than he can chew. I, too, started teaching about tithing from early on.
Children learn by not only doing, but mostly from what they see you, as the parent, doing. That being said giving from their money shouldn't be nessacerry if you make it obvious that you are giving and the reasons why. As for saving a good way to teach this is just what you said. Let him set a goal on something to save for and once he has enough let him buy it. Start small and gradually increase the amount of the item he wants. We don't allow our son just to blow his money. At 8 he has a jar for his money that he earns and sets goals on what he wants to get. Right now he is saving for an Xbox 360. He has already saved close to $80!
I feel a good way to teach the value of the dollar is to watch how much you spend on your kids outside of allowance. Depending on age and maturity, calculate the allowance so they have to pay for their own "treats." If you give a dollar per week, but then buy them toys and candy at every trip to the store, they won't learn to manage their money. My parents used to give me $20 per week, but I had to pay for my own school lunches! I think that's taking it too far personally, but having your child pay for some of their own things, and not just having money sit in a piggy bank, is a good way for them to know the value of a dollar. They will learn it takes four chores to buy a dollar store toy, or eight chores to buy an action figure, etc etc.
