Should I be worried when my nine year old writes me a typed letter covered in hearts and little sad faces saying:-
“Dear mum,
I’m sorry I’ve been grumpy – it’s because I think I’ve got anger management problems as you say, so I’m sorry about that. Love you.
Sorry mum.
X
Now I feel bad. I don’t remember telling him he had anger management issues (except two years ago when we nearly had to go to family counselling)….how to give him a complex or what!
It’s getting a bit bad, this not remembering things business…..(even taking birthday week into consideration). Pocket money is the worst and boy do they ever milk that one….am I the only parent with total memory loss? I really need to make note of what I pay them when because all three of my kids spend an inordinate amount of time saying “mum, you haven’t given me my pocket money for the last three years/two months/3 weeks….and I simply can’t remember and I argue and argue, but the minute they get a whiff of hesitation, thats it. I’m dead in the water.
I need to invent a diary with a pocket money payment section attached or learn how to avoid hesitation in future.
Jon Storey
November 19, 2009He sounds a nice lad, give him a big hug!
We have “The Money Book”. It doesn’t help us remember to pay the little capitalists but it gives them the proof they need to persecute us!!
Perhaps we should study “The Kelly Report”….!
Zed
November 19, 2009Awwwwwwww, your son sounds like he’s quite OK – I wouldn’t worry. He probably picked it up on the Jeremy Kyle Show. Next he’ll be asking you for Those All Important DNA Tests….
Get a receipt book. They’re cheap and when you pay out the money you can give them a piece of paper noting that it’s been paid on such and such a date – and you’ll have a copy. Make sure that they sign too though.
Family Affairs
November 19, 2009Zed that is a great idea….I love that AND I’ve always wanted to write in one of those books for some reason. Great. Going to buy one now. LX
fd
November 19, 2009he’s so lovely. as for pocket money, we got paid ours monthly by standing order from the age of 12. It forced us to manage our money and learn to negotiate banks and parents didn’t need to remember anything. Once a year a conversation about changing the pocket money allowance was possible but we kids had to present really solid arguments to why we needed more and couldn’t earn it ourselves.
Family Affairs
November 19, 2009They do get some of it by standing order and some only if they “deserve” it…..ie have helped me with some jobs etc. But still. I forget. Lx
Karin
November 19, 2009My dad was a banker. He created a “home bank” (separate notebooks for my sister and me) and wrote down “deposits” of allowance and lunch money each week. He also paid a generous interest rate: 0.5% per week, accruing weekly. When we requested our money, he’d enter it as a withdrawal. I think he got behind on the interest calculations sometimes, but could always catch up. I loved it, because I figured out that I got more money if I left it in “the bank” for longer (though, being cheap, I sometimes just bought a Hostess cherry pie for lunch, so that wasn’t so good). My sister often ended up owing money to the bank. (I once lent her money on the condition that she repay me at dad’s interest rate. I never got paid back. She didn’t think it was funny when, ten years later, I told her how many thousands she owned me on that $10. I haven’t brought it up since.)
My kids are still too young for pocket money, but I hope to try the system – with the improvement of a spreadsheet program to do the math for me.
Family Affairs
November 19, 2009What a good idea – but I am not sure I’d be disciplined enough for it to work….Lx
karen
November 20, 2009Hi, great to find your new blog site – just catching up on my favourite blogs! Good luck with the pocket money issue, I always remember being too much of a softie, and undoing all those hard earned lessons they were supposed to learn about financial mangement..
Family Affairs
November 20, 2009I know, that’s my problem slightly too – it just seems to me that it’s easier to give them a bit more if I forget – not really worth the battle, but as you say, it doesn’t make for sensible real world financial management practice Lx
LED TV
April 25, 2010thanks !! very helpful post!