A few weeks ago we made a decision. After noticing an increasing amount of, “But I want THAT Mummy!” and, “But WHY can’t I have ten magazines, a bar of chocolate and a new princess outfit Daddy?!” the (self-proclaimed) Northern Love Machine and I decided to start teaching our daughter the value of money.
The thing is, our daughter only turned four years old last weekend. Money is still a pretty foreign concept to her. She thinks the cashpoint is a magic place that just spurts out tenners to whoever has a finger to press the buttons. Numbers are a new addition to her vocabulary – she’s proud as punch if she can count to 35 without stopping.
But when exactly is the right time to start teaching children about the value of cold hard cash? Although she has a savings account, Frog doesn’t really have a grasp on the notion of what money is and why she needs it. She knows her mum and dad have to go to work to earn money to pay for things, but I think she half-thinks this is just a ruse to get her to go obediently to pre-school without making a fuss.
We put money into her savings every month and, one day, I hope she’ll spend it on something sensible. But how do you teach children the value of money before that day comes?
While we don’t have the answer to this, we thought we’d try an experiment. So, a few weeks ago we introduced the “Job Jar”. Frog gets £1 every Friday when her dad gets home from work, if we’re all agreed she’s pulled her weight when she’s been asked to. Basic tasks involve tidying her toys away when she’s finished playing with them and helping to set the table before tea time.
We gave her a big jam jar, separate to her money box, so she could actually see the money grow inside each week. She wrote her name on a sticky label and, underneath, I wrote “Jobs money”.
The physical act of putting the money in the jar is proving a valuable part of the money lesson – and one which Frog is very much involved in. And she’s just as involved in the discussion over whether she has “earned” her jobs money each week. Note – we call it “jobs money”, not “pocket money”, in the hope she’ll put the concept of work and cash together.
The idea is that, over time, Frog will see the money grow and use it to buy the things she regularly asks for. Of course she still gets the odd treat (a regular Peppa Pig magazine being her favourite) and we still expect her to help out without being paid – getting dressed herself, keeping her room tidy and brushing her teeth without a fuss are all non-paid events in our house.
But is four too young for pocket money? Liz from Me and My Shadow is another pocket money fan, although her daughter is a little older than ours. “We give £2 per week to our 6 year old in exchange for cleaning her room and playroom and setting the table every day,” says Liz. “She saves it up and buys what she likes with it. I think it’s helping her learn the value of money.”
Penny at Parent Shaped also uses a reward system to teach her kids about the value of money, although hers is a little more advanced than ours. “We have a small set amount and a bonus. We have a chalkboard to record this – a smiley face is a pound, a point is 10p and we give the children points and smiley faces for positive stuff they do. It works really well.”
Kate at Kate Takes 5 is another one to use pocket money to her advantage. “My kids started getting pocket money as soon as they understood how bribes worked,” she jokes. “Fortunately 2 out of 3 of them are still young enough to be palmed off with 50p. 50p is the answer to everything when you’re 5.”
But not everyone is down with the idea of pocket money. Joy from Pinkoddy’s Blog isn’t a fan. She explains, “We don’t do pocket money as we believe chores should be done without reward.”
So what do you think? Is four too young to introduce the concept of cash? When did you start giving your children pocket money? Or are you against the idea altogether?
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Disclosure: This is a commissioned post but all views and words remain my own.
Great article. Love the idea of a job jar to teach the concept that money has to be earned.
When my son was six he used to save his up for weeks just so he could swagger in to a shop and buy ten packets of football stickers in one go! at 14 he’s the making of a right flash git!
With little Roo I haven’t yet introduced the concept but love the idea of a jobs jar so might give it a go!
X
Love the idea of your son bulk buying footie stickers – he’ll be the one buying the rounds in at the pub as soon as he’s old enough then! Tell little Roo the chocs are on F next time you come to visit! xxx
Thank you for the mention – lol feel like I should write a whole blog post on why when I have time now.
Four certainly isn’t too young. P1 has been having pocket money for a while now and she’s really beginning to understand. Teaching that money doesn’t just fall out of mummy or daddy’s pocket is a great skill for life. P1 is saving her pocket money to take her and her sister to the cinema… She’s got more than that but she’s keeping it because she knows P2 is too young at the moment. It’s cute
My boys are 24 and 22 (very nearly) now. We started off giving them 10p for each year of their lives probably from the age of 3 and a bit. They didn’t understand at first, but by the time they were 6 they had got it.
As they got older we paid them for jobs as well before they were old enough for paper-rounds. This cost us an arm and a leg, so we ended up paying a flat £10pm each.
The boys ended up paying for their own mobiles, own computers, tv’s as we wouldn’t buy them. That was tricky if we needed to confiscate for bad behaviour though lol!
Both boys treated the same, but very different attitudes to money. One will spend. One will save. If they wanted really big stuff (like their computers) we would lend them the money and it had to be paid back like a bank loan. All done in a cash book, so they learned the value of money and also debt!
We’re currently pregnant with our first child but we are currently foster parents to a teenager. He gets his pocket money and it burns a hole in his pocket I’m genuinely surprised that it doesn’t set his trousers on fire. My husband has an app on his phone which keeps track of how much pocket money Our Sidekick (Foster son) has. There’s the general pot (£5 a week if all chores are completed, if the TV is left on or there are other penalties then money is removed from this – it tends to be like 10p for it being on standby rather than off completely but some weeks has amounted to all the pocket money going) he then has a special pot which is where the pocket money that he’s been given by my husband’s parents or my grandparents goes for days out, holidays or something bigger that he’s saving for like bike parts etc. By 15 he should be able to look after his own money to a certain degree however I think because of the background and things like that he hasn’t had the same “guidance” that we’ve (and you/your kids) have received when it comes to money. I think it’s sometimes – it’s there, therefore I have to spend it before it runs away.
Sounds to me like you’re doing a great job of teaching him about the value of money. It’s a tricky subject to broach – but a very important one in my opinion. x
It’s tricky isn’t it?
I do think it’s helping Ruby, she now knows that a magazine can cost her 2 1/2 weeks’ money, and doesn’t mither me for them anymore!
Magazines – a whole other topic for a blog post! Why do they have to be so blooming expensive?!