May 14th, 2009
Finding Three Dollars
My nine year old niece gets an allowance of three dollars a week from my sister. At least, she’s supposed to.
My niece told me today her mother hasn’t been giving her allowance for the last few weeks. My sister was laid off when Aloha Airlines closed its doors and only recently began working again–but never missed an allowance day during the time she was unemployed.
In my work as a parent educator (yes, that’s what I’m doing on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, and have for quite a few years), the one message I try to give over and over is to be consistent. If your personal financial situation is such that you have to cut back on allowance for your kids, tell them about it and explain to them the changes that need to happen as well as something (not necessarily every detail) about the family’s financial situation.
Of course, that doesn’t explain to me how my sister is better off on unemployment than working, or how she can’t find $3 a week when she spends large amounts of money on items I consider wasteful, but that’s another blog post altogether.
I’ve always thought that when talking to my nieces/nephews. I stay consistent and I mean what I say. No means no, Yes means yes, and I never say Maybe.
My sis in law doesn’t get that, but.. I do remember as a child, feeling quite strange not knowing if what my parents said was true or not. And kids notice changes in a routine more readily than we think.
Adding you to my reader.
Thanks!