Real World Lessons In The Not-So-Real World Of My Eight Year Old



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In the past, we have tried several different incentive programs with our kids. We have required them to perform daily chores since they were 4 years old. Now, as they are getting older, we have decided to put them on the payroll, so to speak. My husband and I fell that they are at the perfect age now, having a firm grasp on their basic math skills, to learn about tithes and offering, as well as the value of the hard-earned dollar. Contrary to our many efforts to ground them and teach them that money doesn't grow on trees and to be good stewards of their belongings, they still seem to take for granted any treats or gifts. So, time for a wake-up call.

This is the first week in which they will be earning a daily wage for their well completed tasks. Seeing dollar signs and already making a mental list of all the things she would be buying with her giant paycheck, my daughter came to me to ask how much they would be earn and when they would see the money. I explained what we would pay them each week for a job well done. This made her jump up and down with excitement. I then explained how they could expect to be paid biweekly, just like a real job. Immediately, her shoulders slumped, she stomped to the couch and threw herself down. "You said we would start getting paid this week!" she grumped at me. "I meant it. You will begin earning wages this week. You will not be paid, though, until pay day. This is how it works in any job, so you can learn it now." I replied. She did not like this answer. I reminded her that in our home, its not just the task at hand, but the attitude with which the task is carried out. I've told both the older kids that it is very important to do everything as though doing it for Jesus. I told them that if they always try to please Jesus with their thought, words and actions, they will always be rewarded for their efforts. It reigns true, in most jobs, if you are surly and hateful while at work, your evaluations will not go well and some times you will not remain in that job. It is difficult not to laugh, though, when they get so frustrated over silly little things, like not wanting to do the dishes. It's such a small moment in the vast expanse of a lifetime, that it seems ridiculous to throw a fit about it.

Hopefully, if our encouraging them to keep a good attitude hasn't really worked every time in the past, money talks! Maybe when they don't get paid as much as they were expecting, they will be more motivated to try harder and stop sweating the small stuff. I am an eternal optimist!