Whydiss

Bob a job
Originally uploaded by whydiss

Has the tradition of giving children a coin in return of doing choirs become outdated? The traditional pay packet has been replaced with electronic transfers and my children’s bank account has been growing steadily via automatic bank transfer that I sent up from my account into theirs.

Here is the money jars that we have started to use for our Bob-A-Job and the idea came from my children’s after school care giver, Andy. He suggested that the children have a money jar to keep coins in and the children earn money over the summer holidays. There goal was to have $15 by the end of January and they will spend this money on a Super Soaker water gun. This Super Soaker will become a part of the children’s after school activities.

My moral issues on my children not playing with any type of toy gun has been set aside for the greater lesson on earning & saving money. Yes the real money that you can touch and not the pretend electronic number money that sits on a computer screen or balance print out, either from the bank or ATM.

We used recycled spaghetti sauce jars and the children enjoyed making there own labels from recycled paper and old stickers. My limit on the amount that the children can be paid for each job is 50 cents because generous grand parents are happy to part with gold coins, just to see there little faces light up. Plus they would reach their target of $15 each very quickly if getting the mail out of the mail box earned them $1 from Nanna.

The jars sit in a prominent place in the house and the children are enjoying watching there money jars slowly fill up. We have had some interesting debates on what constitutes a job and what is an every day chore etc making your own bed is a chore, however helping mulch the palm fronds is a job. The children are learning that everyone has chores they have to do, without any financial gains. Then there are jobs that they can volunteer to do, like collecting all the single socks in the house and make them into pairs. The jobs I have created that littlies can do have been very clever, if I do say so myself but the sheer joy comes from watching my children learn a valuable lesson in life.

Andy was right about setting this goal for the children over the summer months and I am sure he is looking forward to the daily soaking he will receive from all those super soakers, once school starts again.