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Money is everywhere in everyday life
Children hear us talk about it, see us count, pay. It is natural that they are interested in it. Talking to them about money is not indecent, even if their questions sometimes seem intrusive to us. For them, there is no taboo and there is no need to make it a mystery.
Everything has a price
Don’t be shocked if your child asks for the price of everything that comes their way. No, he’s not particularly materialistic. He just finds out that everything has a price, and he wants to compare. Simply answering him will allow him to gradually establish an order of magnitude and to get an idea of the value of things. At the same time, he is training in arithmetic!
Money can be earned
When refused a toy because it is too expensive, a young child often replies: “You just have to go and buy some money with your card!” “. The way the tickets automatically come out of the machine seems magical to him. Where does the money come from? How can you run out of it, since you just have to slide your card into the slot to get it? All this remains very abstract for him. It’s up to us to explain to him that it is by working that we earn money to pay for the house, food, clothes, vacations. And if the banknotes come out of the vending machine, it is because they have been stored in the bank, behind the machine. Tell him about our accounts. If money is a subject of curiosity like any other, there is no question of telling it about our financial worries. When he hears “We’re out of a penny!” », The child takes the information literally and imagines that he will have nothing to eat the next day. To the question “Are we rich, we?” “, It is better to reassure him:” We have enough to pay for everything we need. If there is money left, we can buy what we like. “
Children love to handle change
At the bakery, giving them a room so that they can pay for their pain au chocolat themselves fills them with pride. But before the age of 6, money is like a little toy for them, which they quickly lose. No need to line their pockets: once the treasure is lost, it’s a tragedy.
Claiming pocket money is growing
Symbolically, having your own money is not trivial. By giving him a little nest egg, you are giving him that beginning of autonomy he dreams of. Responsible for his few euros, he takes his first steps in commercial society, he feels invested with a certain power. As for you, if he is pestering you for a piece of candy, you can now offer to buy it for himself. Has he spent it all? He just has to wait. Knowing how to manage your money can only be learned through use. He’s a spendthrift, don’t panic! Do not expect that, from his first euro, he patiently saves to give himself a real gift. At the beginning, it is more of the “pierced basket” type: having a coin in your hand makes it itchy, and spending it, what a pleasure! It doesn’t matter what he does with his first pieces: he experiments and rubs shoulders with the reality of the concrete world. Gradually he will compare and start to realize the value of things. From the age of 8, he will be capable of more discernment and will be able to save if something really appeals to him.
A promotion that should not be given lightly
Choose a symbolic date to tell him that he is now entitled to it: his birthday, his first start to school … From the age of 6, you can grant him one or two euros per week, which is more than enough. The goal is not to enrich it but to empower it.
Teach the child that not everything has a cash value
Rather than offering their child a regular sum, some parents prefer to pay for the small services he is able to render them at home, just to make him understand that all work deserves a salary. However, it is giving the child early on the idea that nothing is free. However, participation in family life through small “chores” (setting the table, tidying up your room, shining your shoes, etc.) is precisely something that should not be costed. Rather than business acumen, teach your child a sense of caring and family solidarity.
Pocket money is not about trust
You may be tempted to associate pocket money with school performance or the child’s conduct, removing it if necessary. However, to give him his first pocket money is to tell the child that he is trusted. And trust cannot be granted under conditions. To encourage him to make an effort, it is better to choose a register other than that of money. Finally, no need to criticize his way of spending it. Is he spoiling it in trinkets? This money is his, he does what he wants with it. Otherwise, you might as well not give it to him!