Teaching Your Child About Money

Some parents choose not to give their children money for the simple reason of the losing it or spending it on something that they did not need. Some parents choose to give their children an allowance every week or at least once a month. What are the reasons behind this?

When I was younger, my dad never gave us money that we could actually call our own because he always said that we would spend it on things that we did not need. When someone would give us money for our birthdays or Christmas, he would always take it and put it up for safe keeping. I was upset every time he would do this but after I became older I understood why he did it. When I was sixteen my dad gave me the debit card to my savings account and said that I was now old enough to make wiser choices.

I was shocked at how much was in there. My dad had helped me save almost a thousand dollars over time. This may not seem like a lot of money but to a sixteen year old, it was like sitting on a gold mine. I thanked him for doing this and then I put a down payment on the first car that I ever owned.

The question that is on a lot of parents mind is if they should or should not to give their child an allowance, give them money when they need it, or to make them work for it by doing chores.

You might want to take a few things into consideration before making your decision.

When a child is given a certain amount every week without reason, then the child will continue to expect it and at times you may find yourself unable to give your child and allowance. This may set your child up for disappointment later when the child is expecting to be able to buy a new toy and then is not able to because of a tight budget that week.

When you give your child money when they need it, the child might expect you too always give him/her money when they want to buy or do something that requires money. If you are going to do this, then I would recommend setting it up like an allowance that you hang onto. You still provide your child with money when they need it but now they are on a set limit and once this amount is gone then they don't get anymore until next week.