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Teach
Your Children to Earn Money
This
is what I've done to prepare my children for
the world of earning money. Before I started
to talk to Triana and Kostas about money,
I taught them about responsibilities.
First
they learned personal responsibilities, like
brushing their teeth and taking a bath before
bed. Then they took on family tasks, such
as picking up their plates from the table
after dinner and taking out the trash. They
learned to do their homework as soon as they
got home from school, and so on.
When
they didn't want to carry out their responsibilities,
this is what I told them, "If you don't
do your part, I won't do my part." If
they wanted something, I'd ask them, "Have
you done your part?" If not, I would
ask, "If I don't do my work, do you think
I'll get paid?" "No," they'd
reply.
At
that point I knew they realized that if they
wanted something from me, they needed to do
their part by fulfilling their responsibilities.
They understood the relationship between working
and receiving compensation for it. I think
the first lesson we need to learn is about
responsibility.
When
I was a boy, I was given an allowance for
doing my chores and Triana and Kostas also
learned to carry out their responsibilities
at home, so they could earn an allowance.
It was usually $10 and they would receive
it on Sundays. This was their first experience
in generating income.
Then
their mother showed them how to run a lemonade
stand. They learned a lot about business.
She taught them to prepare the lemonade, how
to sell it, how to make change, and how to
put in the necessary time to sell their product.
They also learned that the money they made
depended on how much lemonade they sold.
Next,
they put on a yard sale, which was much like
the lemonade stand. But they also learned
that there are many different things they
can sell. Again they practiced dealing with
people, setting prices and making change,
and they saw the results of the hours worked.
But to me, the most important lesson from
these activities was learning to sell.
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