Pocket money and pedal power

Elizabeth wants to earn some pocket money so I told her that if she did some jobs around the house we’d give her some money. I suggested that she make her bed and tidy the bedroom so she disappeared for a little while and then came back and said:

Elizabeth: Mum, I made my bed, I made Daniel’s bed and I put the toys away.
Me: That’s terrific. How much do you think you should get for that?
Elizabeth: Well, it was quite a big job so I think 20p.
Wow, she’s cheap!
Me: I’ll tell you what, if you put the toys away in the lounge room as well I’ll give you five of those which will be one whole pound.

She thought this was a good deal and she went off to tidy the lounge. I’m not sure whether it’s good management, good genes, or just good luck, but we’ve somehow ended up a child who wants to help around the house AND likes doing her homework. How can this be?

I discovered something interesting about the University of Aberdeen. All senior management expenses are disclosed on their website here:
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/about/management/senior-management-expenses-84.php

I think this kind of transparency is fantastic and there should be more of it.

Aberdeen University Students’ Association are putting on a pedal-powered screening of Voices of Transition. I’ve never heard of it but I like the idea of riding a bicycle and watching a film at the same time. It’ll happen on the 12th of February – they haven’t said what time – at the University of Aberdeen.

Posted

February 7, 2015

Climate change, Funny, Kids

Rachel M

Tags:

Aberdeen, cycling, pedal power, pocket money, University, Voices of Transition

Comments

16 responses to “Pocket money and pedal power”

ladysighs

February 7, 2015

Could you lend her out? Maybe monthly? I hate picking up. 😦

Reply
1. Rachel M
  
  February 7, 2015
  
  Haha. I’d miss her too much so I’m afraid not.
  
  Reply
Sherri

February 7, 2015

Wow…what a wonderful little girl 🙂

Reply
1. Rachel M
  
  February 8, 2015
  
  She’s adorable 🙂
  
  Reply
scifihammy

February 7, 2015

Great to have a little helper 🙂 And she learns to earn her treats/money. 🙂 The film looks good, and you could certainly help pedal-power it 🙂

Reply
1. Rachel M
  
  February 8, 2015
  
  Yes, I’d quite like to go although it might not fit in with school and work. We’ll see.
  
  Reply
Sky Blue Daze

February 8, 2015

My kids helped keep the house up without pay, just for being part of the family. But once my son came home from a weekend with a relative and began looking for the extra work, the unexpected and un-routine. He bid jobs like sweeping up the debris near the wood chopping area, fixing the garden fence before I noticed it needed it. He estimates what his time and skill was worth and actually proposed jobs and his fee. We thought it was a wonderful way for him to practice entrepreneurship. He also made cookies to sell at a nearby coffee shop back in the day when he didn’t need a commercial kitchen. The cafe sold them as “Ricky’s cookies.

Reply
1. Rachel M
  
  February 8, 2015
  
  Yes, we are both a bit against the idea of giving money for jobs that should be done anyway and so it didn’t feel quite right to give her pocket money in exchange for these tasks. However she’s only 5 and too young to do “real” jobs so I wasn’t quite sure what things to suggest. I’d quite like to give the kids a small amount of pocket money weekly anyway which they can save just to learn a bit about money and saving.
  
  Reply
  1. Sky Blue Daze
    
    February 8, 2015
    
    Good idea to accomplish both wishes. I wonder what she’ll do with her pocket money.
Chait

February 8, 2015

That’s a lot of bang for your 1 pound 🙂

If you haven’t come across it yet, https://medium.com/@thejakers/raising-entrepreneurs-26be9abf3c52 is a great read that suggests better approaches to pocket money.

Reply
1. Rachel M
  
  February 8, 2015
  
  Interesting article. My sisters and I used to wash cars in our neighbourhood when we were in Primary school. We used to walk around the neighbourhood on weekends, knock on doors and ask whether they’d like their car washed for $5. It was a fairly lucrative venture if I remember correctly 🙂
  
  Reply
anniegoldfisher

February 8, 2015

Your account of Elizabeth and her pocket money really amused me. Let’s hope the interest in doing house work remains! I used to willingly do my homework every day and wouldn’t go out to play until I’d done it. Strange! Unlike Elizabeth, though, I wasn’t particularly keen on doing household chores! 🙂

Reply
1. Rachel M
  
  February 8, 2015
  
  Well, as others have already pointed out she should really be doing basic tasks for no monetary reward, like making her bed. I’ll have to rethink our strategy a bit here 🙂
  
  Reply
anniegoldfisher

February 8, 2015

She’s only five so I can’t see how paying her a pittance to do a few things will hurt. Having said that, I wouldn’t have the faintest idea of how to raise kids. All guesswork I’m afraid. 😦

Reply
1. Rachel M
  
  February 8, 2015
  
  You and me both! They don’t come with an instruction manual 😦
  
  Reply
Andrew Dodds

February 9, 2015

(Although apparently this is ‘ethically dubious’. Who knew?)

Reply