HELPING CHILDREN HANDLE MONEY
By Rhonda Barfield

Several years ago, when my husband, Michael, and I began discussing allowances and money management for our own children, we had not a clue as to how to begin. Apparently ours is a common dilemma. Larry Burkett, founder of Christian Financial Concepts (now Crown Financial Ministries), agrees. To illustrate, Burkett reports the surprising answers he's received--from his informal polling of students in Christian schools--to questions like these: How many are assigned chores that take an hour a week or more? (About 10 percent). How many have to earn their allowances? (About 10 percent). How many have parents that require a budget? (About 2 percent).

Based on his findings, Burkett believes that many Christian parents are neglecting an important aspect of their children's education: finances.
Fortunately, the Barfield grown-ups found what we needed to know in
Larry Burkett's book, The Complete Financial Guide for Young Couples. We were particularly interested in Burkett's suggestion to set up both non-paying and paying chores for children. Here are some of his other guidelines.

1) Pay children only for jobs that are completed.
2) Pay for quality work.
3) Pay fairly, within your budget, but don't overpay because you can afford it.
4) Use visual reinforcement, especially for young children.
5) Teach your children "sharing" principles from God's Word.
6) Teach your children to save.

My mother-in-law advised us, long ago, to start our children early in helping around the house. So when our oldest was two, we began assigning him simple tasks like picking up toys and setting out the silverware for dinner. Eric was obedient. Christian, his younger brother, was exactly the opposite.

By the time he was old enough to help out, Christian preferred the "let's wait and see if Mom is really serious about this chore business" routine.

At four, our second child could often be found in a toy-strewn room, grumbling loudly about his pick-up. It took a long time before Christian finally accepted the fact that, if you don't get your chores done in a reasonable time, you are going to miss out on something good!
But our persistence has paid off. All four children now help cook dinner, set the table, sweep the kitchen floor, put away dishes, make beds, grocery shop, help with laundry, and keep the entire house and yard picked up as their unpaid chores. A chart on the refrigerator keeps track of who does what, when.

As our children grew, and two younger sisters were born, Michael and I decided it was time to introduce paid work in addition to the unpaid chores. Several years ago, we set up a system: Eric (then 8) would contribute two hours a week to a "special project" (big cleaning jobs, helping with home business work, etc.); Christian (7), one and a half hours; and Lisa, (5) one hour. We paid $2.00 an hour, but only for a full hour's work, thoroughly done. I had to stay with the children and keep them going on "Chore Day," but the results were definitely worth it. Today, with three teens and a preteen (and paying more per hour), my children do all the major housework and cleaning, plus big projects around the house and yard.

Eric, Christian, Lisa, and Mary all learned valuable life skills through the years of paid chores. Now, as then, they are required to work hard and stay focused on a given task. On payday, following Burkett's suggestions, money is divided four ways: 10% is designated for tithe, 25% for short-term savings, 25% for long-term savings, and 40% for spending money. I thought, at the beginning, that the children would spend every dime as soon as they got it. For a while, they did. Now they usually compare purchases carefully, and often decide to save their money instead.

One of the most rewarding aspects of our financial program has been our learning to share with others. We now sponsor four children through
Compassion International, and Eric, Christian, Lisa, and Mary often send their own hard-earned money to these children.
This system of money management works well for our family. I'd highly recommend it.

The End

This article is provided free of charge as part of the ministry of The Bondingplace.com.

Rhonda Barfield is the author of Real-Life Homeschooling: The Stories Of 21 Families Who Teach Their Children at Home, Feed Your Family for $12 a Day (both available by ordering through most bookstores nationwide or amazon.com), and 15-Minute Cooking (a self-published book). For more information, visit www.lilacpublishing.com, email Rhonda at barfield@aol.com, or send an SASE to Lilac Publishing, P.O. Box 665, St. Charles, MO 63302 for a free brochure.

This article is reprinted with permission of Money Matters, a newsletter published by Crown Financial Ministries, 601 Broad Street, S.E., Gainesville, GA 30501.