To say that Lio is adjusting to being at school all day is an understatement. He is full of grumpiness - morning, noon and night. I know that he's tired. I know that he's trying to assert his little 1st grade independence. I know that he loves me. But it's just been so hard being around him this past month!
Money is our latest issue. His generous Lola and generous Oma have given him money, and he just wants to go out and spend it right away - it almost doesn't seem to matter on what. I need to figure out a plan to teach him the value of money - how it's hard to earn, and once it's gone it's not coming back. I just want him to be a little saver!
The other day he was in his room (yes, I'll admit it, sent there by me until he was ready to come out and treat me in a nicer way) and he was counting the coins in his piggy bank. I know that he doesn't value coins the same way that he values bills, so I offered to trade him the money he counted for the equivalent in paper money. His response was, "No, It's only $2.00." ONLY $2.00? That's what I mean, he just doesn't get the value of money at all. I tried explaining that those pennies add up, and then pretty soon you have a lot more money. He didn't seem to care, and left his coins thrown all over the floor of his room.
Later when I saw that the money hadn't been picked up, I told him that if his money was laying around that it wasn't safe. It needed to be in his piggy bank, and bills in his wallet. (I can't tell you the number of times I've washed his money in the laundry, or have found it strewn all over the house.) If it wasn't in a safe place, I was going to take it.
Flash forward to 2 days later.
Walked into Lio's room to find his money strewn all over his room, AGAIN. I collected it in a jar, and am putting it into the big bank. There were lots of tears, lots of pleading and promising it wouldn't happen again, was there a way it could be earned back?! I think the real problem was that some of the golden coins from the tooth fairy were confiscated. (I told him that if he got other coins he could trade me for the golden ones.)
I hope that this starts somewhere with teaching the value of money.
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Ethan thinks nothing of dropping $100 on plastic Lego sets.......But it's what he loves, and it is creative! Could be worse- candy!
ReplyDeleteI do like the idea that you took the money to put it in the bank to show him how money adds up.
yeah, but ethan is twice his age!!! i'm having issues w/his attitude of being 'entitled' to spend money on whatever, whenever...and the fact that he doesn't value it if it's all over the place just waiting to get lost. just the other day he lost some down the heating vent! lol
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