Chairman of the board games
We recently played a game of Monopoly with Simon.
Naturally, he insisted on being “The Bank” (our game being one of the conventional types, with paper money).
I realized how important a responsibility this position was for him, and how intent he was on accurately dispensing and collecting the cash.
Rich or poor, how important is it?
Having worked on the concept of “making choices with a limited budget” with my young son, I thought everything was going along swimmingly. He was saving money for some of his projects and talking excitedly about what he was planning to do.
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How much does it cost?
I realized one day that my boy did not have a 100% grasp on the concept of the value of money. Once, when he saw a fancy house in a TV show, he couldn’t help but exclaim:
- "Wow! A house like that must cost a fortune!"
- "Well, how much do you think?" I asked.
- "Oh, at least $2,000," he replied, knowingly.
- "So how much do you think a TV costs?" I continued.
- "$100?" he guessed.
Piggy bank accounting
When I told my little boy what his piggy bank was for, we agreed that any and all money he put into it would be used only for his own future projects. We therefore determined what it was he wanted to save up for. Did he want a new game for his video game console? Some unrestricted pocket money the next time we took a trip? What did he want?
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If the work's not done, the money’s not earned
When my little boy reached the ripe old age of seven, we decided to assign him a number of specific chores, which if properly done would earn him a "salary" of $2 a week. The tasks consisted in making his bed, putting his dirty dishes away in the dishwasher after meals and doing his homework after school without having to be told. It wasn’t long before the inevitable happened; he forgot to make his bed twice in one week. Imagine the heated negotiation when the time of accounting came:
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Having a bank account makes us feel important
When my son, Simon, and I went to open a bank account to deposit the money saved in his "little pig,” he was so excited and happy about having his very own bank account! That's when I realized that this moment meant more to him than I had thought; after all, he’s now old enough to have his own bank account. It reminded me of when I opened my first account. What’s more, given his young age, he doesn’t pay any bank fees at BMO. What a wonderful gift I gave him — and it was free!
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Your children's dreams can happen... if you plan them
My seven-year-old son was talking to me the other day about what he would like to do when he becomes a "father" (that's his word for "adult"). He had it all set in his mind: He will be a firefighter, and a construction worker, and a snowboard champion, and then a doctor.
"You're gonna have to study a lot if you want to do all that," I told him.
"Yep! But I'll learn fast, you'll see," he replied, not even worrying if he had the potential to do all that.
Needless to say, I'm happy I started contributing to his RESPs.
