HOW TO TEACH A TODDLER HOW PARENTS EARN MONEY

Children often feel bad when they approach us, as parents for something they want to buy and we tell them there is no money or we can't buy it now. To some of them: "Daddy don't just want to buy it" or "mummy is just being difficult".  It forms a bad pattern when children get used to the culture of "there is no money", "No you can not have it", "We can not buy it now", "Stop wasting my money", "Monies are not plucked on trees", "do you think I steal money" and much more.

Many children make a request because they know and believe it is Daddy and mummy's responsibility to provide everything and whenever this fails to happen, they feel less loved.

It might be just best to enlighten them about how people earn money or income and how money circulates. When children are made to understand how salaries are being paid then they would be more considerate rather than being wasteful or unnecessarily demanding.

5 THINGS TO DISCUSS WITH YOUR CHILD ABOUT MONEY

1. YOUR JOB: Discuss the job you do with them: Some children are only aware of their parents travel, stay out late or go to work. As parents, we need to go a step further to enlighten our children and wards more about the task we do at work and not just our occupation. Except for the sensitive information, we feel they do not need to know. A child once questioned the mum, "I do not know why daddy is always travelling and does not like staying with us." Another told the brother, "Mummy is too lazy, she is always sleeping while daddy does the work". Children really need to know about our jobs and our routines.
2. MONEY: Teach them that money is a medium of exchange and that money spent never returns until it is worked for.
3. VALUE: That the work you do is a process of adding value to people and after adding this value for a period of time monies are paid to people which comes in the form of salaries and wages. Let them know and understand that reward only comes from adding value to others.
4. WORK PENALTY: Let them know: if mummy or daddy doesn't go to work they stand to lose their pay and their job as well if the reason for absence is not genuine.
5. BUDGET: Let them know Dad and Mum always plan their spending at the end or beginning of every month and that this budget does not allow unplanned spending. In a home where the family budget has been explained to children, it won't sound unfair when you inform them in a shopping mall the item requested is not in the budget.

It helps to discuss with our children and even plan with them when drawing up a part of our budget. This gives them a sense of how to live and how to add value to others rather than having an ownership mentality.

You can also read up on: teaching your child how to save https://olabusola.blogspot.com/2016/02/teach-your-child-how-to-save.html

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Do read up our next post on teaching children how to volunteer.