Instill financial discipline
Jan 24, 2004
Parents Corner: <br>I was seven years old and I had just joined P1 when my mother gave me a key lesson in life
Parents Corner with
Jamesa Wagwau
I was seven years old and I had just joined P1 when my mother gave me a key lesson in life. That night she prepared some chapattis for supper and she advised us to develop a culture of sparing a piece for breakfast the following morning.
As a child, the art of ‘sparing a piece’ was difficult and the temptation to munch the chapati away was irresistible. The lesson looked simple that night, yet it laid a foundation for a fundamental skill I was to use for the rest of my life. This is an ability to handle my property and money responsibly.
Do you ever experience the temptation to ‘munch’ your money away to the last coin without sparing a piece for the next day?
Your child still has the chance and you must train him/her to handle money responsibly. Childhood is a stage for laying life’s foundation and every skill acquired early in life remains embedded in an individual’s lifestyle.
Just like reading and writing skills, handling money is a skill, which you must instill in your child’s mind at an early stage. He/she has to acquire the ability to save and ‘spare a piece’ for the future.
Saving is not just about money. There are several other items your child owns that can either be wasted or handled responsibly. As you teach this lesson, expand your base to cover toys, clothes, money and any other thing your child could own. Let’s find out how you can train your child to value what he/she owns.
Make your child to understand that God owns everything and that he/she is just a caretaker. This concept may sound too abstract to a child, yet it is the foundation to this life lesson. Use homely examples and tailor your explanation to match the child’s age and experiences.
Ask your child to explain to you how he/she would handle property in a manner that pleases God. The child should understand that helping the needy is one way of serving God with what we own.
Help your child to divide his/her money into giving, spending and saving categories. Money spared for giving could be used to help an organisation or a person in need. Let the child decide how much should be spent, given and saved.
Guide the child to develop the skill of saving for a target. Make it clear that life does not end today and whatever we spare today will be useful tomorrow.
Your child should learn to be contented with what he/she has and spend money wisely. You could ask him/her to tell you how he/she would like to spend the pocket money and why. He/she should resist the temptation of stealing others’ property and instead thank God for the little he/she owns.
Making your child to love and recognise God as the overall owner of everything is the foundation of this skill.
My friend Ruth has opened an account in which she transfers money saved by her daughter every term.
Jamesa Wagwau
I was seven years old and I had just joined P1 when my mother gave me a key lesson in life. That night she prepared some chapattis for supper and she advised us to develop a culture of sparing a piece for breakfast the following morning.
As a child, the art of ‘sparing a piece’ was difficult and the temptation to munch the chapati away was irresistible. The lesson looked simple that night, yet it laid a foundation for a fundamental skill I was to use for the rest of my life. This is an ability to handle my property and money responsibly.
Do you ever experience the temptation to ‘munch’ your money away to the last coin without sparing a piece for the next day?
Your child still has the chance and you must train him/her to handle money responsibly. Childhood is a stage for laying life’s foundation and every skill acquired early in life remains embedded in an individual’s lifestyle.
Just like reading and writing skills, handling money is a skill, which you must instill in your child’s mind at an early stage. He/she has to acquire the ability to save and ‘spare a piece’ for the future.
Saving is not just about money. There are several other items your child owns that can either be wasted or handled responsibly. As you teach this lesson, expand your base to cover toys, clothes, money and any other thing your child could own. Let’s find out how you can train your child to value what he/she owns.
My friend Ruth has opened an account in which she transfers money saved by her daughter every term.