Want it now? Get it later!

In the ever-growing age of "want-it-now... gotta-have-it now", it's up to us as parents to teach the importance of working towards and saving for a goal, not giving our children what they want with no investment on their part. A few years ago, our 8 year old son (5 years old at the time), wanted a scooter. I told him that if he really wanted a scooter, he could work hard and earn one. We created a chart consisting of squares worth 50 cents per job. The number of squares coincided with the amount of the scooter. Whenever he wanted to do an extra money job he put an X on the square and when all squares were marked, he was given the money to buy his scooter. He recorded his earnings, paid his church donation and then we purchased his scooter.

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It was a fabulous teaching time for him; he was at the wondrous age where children are so curious about money. They have the capacity to understand that items cost money (they just don't show up) and that money has to be earned through hard work, not just taken out of Mom's wallet. He did extra jobs for two months to earn that scooter and after accomplishing his goal, he had such a sweet sense of satisfaction and success. Not only did he enjoy his scooter, he took care of it. He worked so hard to get it...he didn't want anything to happen to it. Something that's hard to acquire is hard to forget.

A few months ago, this same child wanted an alarm clock. He wanted to be like his older siblings. We gave him the same option as the scooter. See his chart below:

 

 Again, he was consistent and diligent and earned his alarm clock. This concept is one that when learned at a young age, will pay off greatly when children are older. With age, the price tag of the desired item becomes greater, and if they expect Mom and Dad to cough up the dough, well, prepare your wallet now. Or, try the want it now, work for it and get it later approach. It works wonders.

More to come, but until then...Stick-to-it!