the kid saw this trailer truck (which he named bony tony) at the 7-11 store near our place and expressed interest in getting it. i thought its about time to introduce the value of money in a practical manner. so i get the kid to do chores. he’s been helping with simple chores (cleaning the floor, bringing in laundry, folding and keeping them, etc) since he’s like maybe a year plus, and having fun with them. as he gets older, i’ve been giving him more responsibilities, like washing dishes, cleaning up after meals, setting the table for meals (most of which he volunteered actually).
so we digged out a small piggybank.
for different chores he did, he earned different amount of wages. he happily put the money in, delighted as he hears clanking sound of the coins. sometimes he get a lil’ impatient in the saving, but mostly he’s patient. sometimes he demanded for money for EVERY single minor chore, but mostly he’s willing and happy to help out. after about a week of earning, he’s short of $3.70 for the bony tony.
so, i got him to wash the bathroom with me for the 1st time. he was excited. initially he was a lil’ reluctant to do some parts, like scrubbing the wc and the floor tiles. i explained that if he doesn’t work hard, he can’t earn the remaining amount he needs for the toy. so he did. he commented that it took really long to wash the bathroom. at 2 moments while scrubbing, he stopped to tell me this is very hard work and asked if i’m tired. but overall, we had lotsa fun while getting the bathroom sparkly clean.
sweet gain after some hard work and patient saving.
a satisfied lil’ earner, enjoying his reward.
we took twice the time to wash the bathroom but the kid has learnt the value of money, the rewards of hardwork and a new appreciation of clean bathrooms. it meant more ‘work’ for me, giving instructions, cleaning him up after the chore but i’m teaching my son the pleasure of teamwork, and the virtue of responsibility. i am not raising a sheltered, take-things-for-granted son for the sake of convenience. and best of all, we had fun. ;D