I still remember when my dad gave me an allowance for the very first time in
my life. As he handed me a dollar, I felt like he trusted me with this money and
put me in charge of great responsibility. It was just a dollar but I felt so happy
and I thought the whole world is in my hand. I went straight to the candy shop
and bought myself delicious candies and spent it all. After that, I wanted
chocolates too but no money in my pocket so I went and ask my dad for more
and he said I must deal with the consequence. I was just 7 years old and in
middle of the financial crisis. This lesson might look so simple to ignore but still
very essential and affecting us even now.
It first started with weekly allowance and then monthly. So I did calculation and
break it down and figured out how much I can spend day by day. This somehow
gives me the sense of how to spend and handle my money wisely without
getting into serious financial problems. I practiced this since I was a kid and it
developed into my habit now, I always manage to get by with what is given to
me without too much complaint to my parents or running out of them so quickly.
I really thank my parents for this important lesson which has made me strong
and responsible about money and i consider it as a great asset that my parents
ever gave to me.
But some people say allowance should be only given to their children as rewards
to good behavior or chores they finish. I think there are a lot of problems with it.
First of all, if children have done something good, it can be acknowledged and
appreciated by parents but they are
not supposed to expect getting
compensation for doing that. If they do, the money will be only driven motivation
for behaving good. This can give a wrong message to children that they should
behave well not because they have to but to get what they want.
And also, some think this will teach children reality of the workplace where we
have to work to be paid. It is true that nothing in this world is free therefore we
have to work for everything that we need or want. i learned this as I became a
part of the society in which I get paid in return for my service according to the
legal contract. However I believe that relationship between children and parents
must not be compared with the relationship between employer and employee.
Parents love their kids and they buy things or give them money as an expression
of love not because they earn it by behaving good or doing some chores around
home.
Therefore, I think giving children allowance should be unrelated to their behavior
and instead, just given to them and let them make mistake and learn from their
own lessons to have more responsibilities next time.