Are you creating opportunities for your kids & wards to become financially well-educated and for them to practice what you have taught them?
It is good, in fact, encouraged to assign chores to children in accord with their age and abilities. These chores are their contributions to the smooth running of the home. But within that context, you can give them opportunities to earn money, and thus they can learn how the provision of services is one of the ways to gain wealth.
That I didn’t have money to do my own things was one of the greatest disadvantages I faced as a kid. It was embarrassing not to be able to buy little things like ice cream, biscuits, etc when other kids could. It affected my self-esteem; na just say I be ‘Don’, na so people dey use get childhood trauma o. Each time I think about that formative period and think of what to change if I had an opportunity, not having ‘pocket money’ has a premium ranking top of the list. That was the great motivation I designed the allowances for my kids (you may read about it here).
The worst part of being broke as a kid is the fact that I had many opportunities to legitimately earn some money but I was shortchanged. A typical example was the many times my siblings & I joined paid laborers to work in my parents’ farm or building site and we offered the same services that they were paid for, and yet, Papa would not pay us anything and dismiss us with ‘do you not eat’. Lol
I had developed several schemes for the kids to make money but none had really worked as planned until the lockdown in March 2020 presented an opportunity. I was a bit worried about how to engage the children far beyond the online studies & I outlined a few things I could teach the kids. On reviewing with the kids we narrowed down on barbing.
We went on YouTube, selected, and watched some videos on ‘How to Barb’. The older kids watched and I offered them employment as my personal barber. Although they were enthusiastic to barb for free I informed them that I would pay and that if their Mom and I certify that the work is well done, I will pay them the same amount I paid my Barber.
I thought about whether I should pay them less because I supply all the tools and the business centre, but come to think of it, this is premium home service. So we settled on the same pay as Barber. Since March, the kids have made a lot of cash off me and can pay for a lot of their treats including the cake below without touching their allowances which they are constantly reinvesting.
Can you think about the services you pay for, teach the kids how to do them & pay them a token? Who washes your cars, cleans the compound, paints the wall, keeps the garden? Instead of giving gifts of money to your children, make them provide these services & you pay them a token. It tells them early that work & service pays. The earlier they can make that connection the better for them and us. You will ignite the child’s creativity as he seeks ways to serve & make cash to take care of his ‘needs’. This method is effective as corroborated by Marybeth Chima, Writer, and Child Development Expert who recently narrated how she has taught her son to produce and sell Orange drinks. The child thus equipped will well be on his path to financial prudence & sagacity before you realize it.
To start up, you may pay your children (a token) for tasks that you pay other people when they render it. Help them realize that money is made in the following ways:
- Provision of services like Babysitting, Barbing, etc
- Working with their hands like cleaning the garden
- Sale of things they produce like lemonade
- Investment of their funds in other people’s business
- Buying things and selling them off at a higher rate immediately or when the value appreciates
You may list other ways people make money in the comment section that our children can learn from and implement.
Good speed as you find work for your children.
You may read Marybeth Chima’s story at https://www.facebook.com/524053509/videos/10157961359228510/ and follow her work at https://kidsandus.com.ng/