Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Value of Money

Fiscal Lessons Learned from a Four Year Old Boy


Ethan and Daphne both received piggy banks from Santa last Christmas. Since that time, they have conned us out of every errant penny, nickel, dime and quarter that is left within child's view. Their piggies are getting heavy and the kids often talk about what they might purchase with all their newfound wealth.

Well last week, Mommy instituted Chore Charts for the little ones. They each got to select a "Reward" that they would work for all week long. If they managed to earn enough stars that week, the reward would be theirs.

Daphne, my girlie girl, chose a garish purple and pink Barbie Princess dress, complete with a sparkley magic wand. Ethan, ever the pragmatist, opted for cold, hard cash. Four dollars, to be exact.

So the end of the week came and they had both earned their 25 stars. I pulled Daphne's gown off the wall where it hung and presented it to her as she squealed with delight. I then went to my purse and pulled out four, crisp, new dollar bills and gave them to Ethan.

Ethan graciously said "thank you" and then went in the other room, presumably to count the bills (that's my boy! -- trust NO ONE!). He came back a few minutes later, looking rather glum, grasping his hard-earned greenbacks, and asked "Mommy, can I has my scissors so I can cut these into circles and make REAL money?".

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved this!

and can I say that your kids are getting SOOO big!

ruchi said...

You should see if you can find some dollar coins. It'll be more fun for Ethan because he can stick them in his pig, and you know they say that dollar coins are more environmentally friendly than dollar bills because coins last longer and thus in the end take less energy to make than bills.

Anonymous said...

Count yourself lucky. When my 4 yr old fills his chart he shops in the Lego catalog.

Green Bean said...

That is too cute!

Joyce said...

Ha! I used to beg my dad to give me my allowance in coins. It seemed like "real" money.

Anonymous said...

I am a fan of dimes.
I recognize the lack of fiscal savvy that implies, but I am not changing my story.
Real silver Mercury head dimes, to be exact.
I *so* get Ethan's point of view.

Oh, and by the way... anyone ever mention that Daphne looks just a bit like you?