AS PART OF TheJournal.ie’s weekly Family Magazine, we wanted to create a space for parents to share their views. A place where mums and dads could share their experiences, lessons learned, and even mistakes along the way. With that in mind, we’ve launched TheJournal.ie Parents Panel.
This week, we’re asking our panel about piggy banks, budgeting and saving for treats: What’s one thing you’ve done to teach your kids the value of money?
Here’s what they had to say…
Top L-R: Olly Keegan, Alan Dooley, Denise, Ken Hyland. Middle L-R: Ríona Flood, Ross Boxshall, Marta Lisiecka, Denise Cumiskey. Bottom L-R: Kait Quinn, Susannah O’Brien, Derek McInerney, Suzie Kelly.
I’ll tell the older kids straight if money is tight
My girls get €5 pocket money every week, and they can earn a top-up if they’ve done a particularly big chore, like cleaning the garage. They are allowed to spend it in the shop on whatever they want, with the condition that they save some of it. We make no excuses when it comes to money, and will tell them straight if we are having a tight month.
- Susannah O’Brien
We’re teaching him how shops work
Our three-year-old calls money “tickets”! We’re trying to teach him about money little by little, so if he’s getting something in the shop, we’ll go with him to the counter but he hands over the money and takes the change. At least he’s getting used to the concept.
- Olly Keegan
She has already saved for her first big purchase
Our eight-year-old has had a bank account for a number of years and has been responsible for paying birthday and Christmas cash into it. Last year, she took all of what she had saved and put it towards us buying a climbing frame for herself and her siblings. We will sometimes match what she has to spend, if it’s something she really needs or deserves.
- Ross Boxshall
I keep money at a distance as much as possible
My kids are both under seven and for now I keep their involvement with money to a basic minimum. They don’t handle money, they don’t get pocket money or gifts of cash. I can understand the reasoning behind people teaching kids about money from very early on, but that’s just not for us. Once they’re old enough to spend it by themselves, they can have it.
- Suzie Kelly
I refuse to bow to pester power
My kids are two and three, so right now money is just the paper they get to pull out of the ATM when mommy puts her card in. One thing I try to do is to never give in to pester power in shops. It’s torture but I always stand my ground.
- Denise
They don’t ask for money – because I don’t have it
My 16-year-old and 21-year-old never got pocket money. Even now, they don’t ask for money because they know I don’t have it. I think in the long run, it has made them respect the value of money more. I have really seen the positive outcome of this in the last few months as my eldest tries his hardest to find a job to fit around college to get some money. Some of his friends don’t seem as bothered as they get hand-outs at home.
- Denise Cumiskey
He keeps a written record of his piggy bank spending
We ask our oldest to track what he spends with a piece of paper kept in his piggy bank, so that he doesn’t view it as a bottomless money-producing item. We want him to see the diminishing pot of money in numbers on a paper, rather than the volume of coins.
- Alan Dooley
Chores equal pocket money
I’m proud to say my kids are not wasteful with their money. They both have chores that they must do to earn their pocket money, like hoovering the house, mopping floors and keeping their rooms tidy. What they spend the allowance on is their business, for the most part, but if they want something like a new computer game, they must earn it and save up for it.
- Ken Hyland
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