Published July 2011: eHow Family & Relationships
Allowing Allowance
Teaching Children Responsibility One Dollar at a Time
Article Excerpt:
When Danny Payne was a child, he would go to the store with his parents and find a toy he just had to have. Although many parents give in and fork over the cash to please their children, Payne’s parents reminded him of the long list of chores posted on the fridge that would allow him to earn the money to buy the toy. “I can remember that mowing the lawn paid $1.25, which I’m sure violated child labor laws because our Midwest lawn was huge,” said Payne, a California-based certified financial planner.
After a week or two of mowing the lawn and checking off chores on that list, Payne began to value his earnings and decided that the toy he just had to have wasn’t necessarily worth the money. Payne learned a valuable lesson about managing his finances and prioritizing his wants and needs.
“Looking back, I realize this cooling off period was teaching delayed gratification and the patience to make better financial decisions,” Payne said. “Delayed gratification teaches kids to control their emotional reactions and make better financial decisions in the long run.”Often, when children realize that even without an allowance, they have the best video games and electronic devices, the value of earning money decreases. Parents then find that teaching responsibility involves much more than just handing over a few dollars in exchange for a few folded loads of laundry. Instead, setting fiscal and household boundaries for your children can help them grow up to be smart — and grateful — money managers.Read the Rest of the Article
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– Shannon Philpott
Published by sphilpott
I am a college journalism and English instructor, student newspaper adviser and published freelance writer for newspapers and magazines. More importantly, I'm a mom and a never-ending advocate for education. See my personal blog at www.shannonphilpott.com.
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Published July 2011: eHow Family & Relationships
Shannon Philpott-Sanders 
i am the king of spoulers.just saying if they wanted something they got it.i am still that way,my girls still learn to be level headed about life it self. common sense goes along way.which is why i am proud of all my neices and nephews too.as far as i am concerned my wife and girls always came before anything else including me.