A mother of three junior high students told her children she would give them money at the beginning of each week to pay for that week’s school lunches. She also said if they made their own lunches at home they could keep the lunch money for themselves. Her rationale was that she would be spending the money either way and by giving them this option, she was teaching her children two things. One, they were learning to make spending/saving decisions. Two, they were learning responsibility because if they wanted to keep the money they had to prepare their own lunches.
If a plan like this is to work, however, you have to be firm. For example, do not make the lunches yourself or give your child more money to buy lunch at school in addition to keeping the original lunch money.
Are there other things that might meet these guidelines? Things you pay for that your children are perfectly capable of doing, such as simple tasks you pay someone outside the family to do. Some possibilities that come to my mind include:
Basic housekeeping chores.
Mowing the lawn.
Babysitting for younger siblings.
Shoveling snow.
Gardening.
Walking the dog.
If you brainstorm I’m sure you can come up with many more. Give it a try. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain!
