It is good to teach children the value of money
My elder son, who is nine years old, tries to strike a deal with me every time. However, for him, more than money, it is about awarding it with playtime, because we ration the time he can spend on video games over the weekend. So, even though there is no money involved, there is definitely a reward point.
I also don’t think it is a bad idea to pay children for chores, because they can learn from the experience. Nowadays, most parents just have a child or two and we tend to spoil them sometimes. Because of this, they don’t seem to value money much. My child, for example keeps asking me, “Ma, can I have Dh10,000 or Dh20,000?” What he wants to do with that money is buy cars or a silly online game. So, to him such an amount of money is nothing. This is why it is good to tell them and create a feeling within them that you don’t just get money when you ask for it. You will have to earn it.
But I would use this ‘paying for chores’ concept very cautiously.
I don’t think it would turn them into adults who expect to be paid for basic chores, because if you think about it – for a child doing dishes or cleaning their room is not basic. I think being money-minded is not that bad a thing. They just need to understand that money brings power. Unless they use that power with a lot of responsibility, it can be disastrous. So, if my son does ask me for money, I tell him, you see me going out every morning and coming back in the evening. We work very hard and if you need money, you need to work hard as well. You need to bring the perspective. From Ms Priya M. Nair Bid manager at an Abu Dhabi-based firm and mother of two