fbpx

Kids Ain't Cheap

But They Sure Are Worth It

Here’s How to Transfer a Generational Family Business

| Leave a Comment

Many people toil all their lives and establish businesses with hopes of giving their kids, generations after, a good life. However, deep business roots aren’t always a guarantee for success. The successor must pass down the entrepreneurship drive supported by progressive development and adaptation to sustain the business. How do you successfully pass down the family business baton? Read on to learn how.

1. Expose The Next Generation To Business Early

According to Cornwell University, SC Johnson College College of Business, a family-owned business lasts about 24 years. Additionally, only about 40% of such enterprises transition into second-generation businesses. To ensure your business grows for years on end, you should bring your children on board early enough to familiarize themselves with the ins and outs of daily management. They’ll experience firsthand the hard work you must put in to make the business successful. They don’t have to do the hard work; simply being present and observing is enough.

You’ll be amazed by how much they can learn through observation. They might grab critical lessons such as understanding what steps to take to minimize costs while being environmentally friendly, a must-know secret for business survival. About 90% of companies fail to track printing costs. As a result, they miss out on impactful savings affiliated with print costs and environmental management. Exposing your successors early to these critical lessons prevents them from making these mistakes.

2. Establish Solid Systems

Businesses that survive longer have systems that everyone must follow faithfully to ensure quality and standardized output throughout generations. For this to happen, the family must know how to balance codified processes and standard operating procedures. An excellent example is going the extra mile to provide after-sales services. Independent auto repair shops do about 75% of after-market repairs. The main benefits of offering aftersale services are retaining customers and growing your market share.

If you intend to pass over a successful business, you must be willing to source talent outside the family. Doing so ensures you maximize professionalism to sustain your family business for generations. Specialized skills alongside business-minded successors ensure business survival after your exit.

3. Create Progressive Development Processes

Moving your family members through the diverse organizational departments would be best for learning different business processes. The idea is to help them develop technical expertise in diversified business areas and allow them to manage diversified teams. As a result, the successors will learn the scope of the business while gaining the necessary experience in overall business management. Also, they’ll learn how to keep a competitive advantage against direct business competitors and protect the business against attacks that spell doom to a company, such as data breaches. Data breaches exposed over four billion records in the first half of 2019.

4. Insist On Integrity

It’s common for some family members to develop bad habits. If your child fudges the truth at home, they may do the same in a company. Also, if one of your kids always trounces the others in typical rivalry during play, chances are they may bring unhealthy competition into the company. Therefore, parents shouldn’t ignore these behaviors. Address them early to prevent these negative inclinations, which can potentially damage the family business in the future.

Not all family businesses make it through multiple generations. For this reason, if you intend to pass over the family business baton to the next generation successfully, you should expose the successors to the business early and create progressive development systems. Instill integrity and ensure it runs in the blood. Your lineage will enjoy the fruits of your hard work long after you are gone.

Budgeting Tricks for Every Income

| Leave a Comment

Budgeting Tricks for Every Income

Creating a budget may seem daunting and sticking to it can seem rather limiting. While budgeting may have a bad connotation, a budget is really just a plan for your money. Budgeting can teach you financial responsibility by forcing you to spend your money with purpose. Having a financial plan in place can help you take back control of your money through organization.

How Does Budgeting Help Me?

Your budget is simply your visual financial plan–whether weekly, monthly, or yearly. Your budget can help you reach certain monetary goals you may have thought impossible before. Whether your goals include getting out of debt or saving for a house, a budget can help you achieve whatever financial milestone you want.

Budgeting Tips to Get Started

  1. Budget to $0 Each Month: This tip doesn’t mean that you spend all your income throughout the month. Rather, this means that you assign all of your income throughout the month. Your funds should have a specific allotment, whether it is your savings account or a monthly loan payment such as a title loan. Earmark every dollar towards something, so you can stop the endless cycle of “where did all my money go?” You know where. Look at the budget sheet. Knowing exactly where all of my money goes every month may reduce your stress because it takes out the guesswork.
  2. Remember Every Month is Different: Another important trick to remember is that every month will be different, so your budget plan may need to be adjusted. Some months you will need to budget for unexpected expenses like car maintenance or hospital bills.
  3. Make Your Debt a Priority: The longer you wait to pay off your debt, the more you will be paying in the long run. Making your debt a priority can help you save money in the long run and increase your appeal as a candidate for loans.
  4. Track Your Progress: It’s important for you to keep track of how you are measuring up to your budget. From time to time, check your budget plan and see how much you are saving throughout the month. Reward yourself for the small victories and stay motivated!
  5. Track Your Budget: Throughout the month, you should be evaluating your budget for flaws and inconsistencies. At the end of the month, be sure to look over your spending throughout the month. If you are overspending in any one category, it may be wise to readjust your budget to maximize your savings.
  6. Stay within Your Means: While you may be making your ends meet every month, it is important to make sure that you are not spending outside of your means. Overspending can mean a high car payment or a costly mortgage. Downsizing can mean refinancing your mortgage or trading in your car for something more affordable.
  7. Have Financial Goals: Whether your goal is paying off your student debt, or saving for a house, having financial goals can put your finances and your budget in a better position. Setting small financial goals for yourself can help increase your motivation for staying on track of your budget. Focus on your reasons for budgeting and keep yourself accountable.

Image source: 401(k) calculator, via Flickr.

Enjoy the Horse Racing and Win the Money!

| Leave a Comment

Do you like watching horse racing? Are you one of its fans? Horse racing is one of the primitive sports that until now still favored by many people. Seeing a group of race horses racing to be the fastest on the finish line is a thrilling thing, not only for horse enthusiasts but also speed lovers. Initially, horse races were often contested during the Roman Empire (Ben-Hur provides a complete picture for it). In addition, this horse race is also found in various mythologies in the European region.

The world’s horse race is divided into 2 major sections; Thoroughbred Race and Harness Race. Thoroughbred is a racetrack where the game is divided into 2 parts i.e. Flat Race (horse racing without hindrance) and Jumping Race (racetrack using obstacles). Thoroughbred Race is the most popular race in the world. The Harness Race is a horse race by train. Of course the train used has a size smaller than the Roman era train. Harness is mostly played in Canada and some European countries.

If you are a horse race fan then you can get more things from your hobby. You can earn not only “satisfaction” but also big money! You can try horse racing gambling games both conventionally and online. Of course the online version is more recommended as you do not need to race to monitor the horse of your choice. The winning money you earn (in case you win a game) can also be directly transferred to your personal account without going through a complicated bureaucracy. Not only that, you can get some bonuses even before playing the game!

The next question is how to choose the best gambling house. In gambling games you have to consider everything and the selection of bookies is one of the most important pillars. You can’t succeed in playing gambling if you deal with bad bookies. What you need is a quality book dealer that does business transparently to ensure there is no loss beyond what has been agreed upon. Of course “losing” in gambling is a natural thing but cheated by a dealer is something that can’t be tolerated.

We are a group of people who love racing gambling and we have been observing for years. From our observations we can conclude that there are only a handful of high quality online gambling bands, one of which is William Hill! By playing on William Hill’s field you can find out the game process in detail even horse racing results today – provided by William Hill. Be smart in choosing “the playing field.”

What you have to know before you play is how you can make a deposit on the bookies where you play. You also have to make sure they are really professional so that your personal data is in the right hands. Make sure also the payment method in case you win a game. Do not let you fall into despair to take what you deserve for.

The Importance of Simply Asking: Money Saving Edition

| Leave a Comment

When you have a family to care for, saving money is of utmost importance. There have been a few times in the last few years when we needed an item or needed something replaced, and by simply taking a few minutes to ask about, or search out, discounts or replacements, we have literally saved upwards of thousands of dollars.

Healthcare

Both my husband and I wear glasses. I also wear contacts and over the last few years, my preferred method is to order both glasses and contacts online. We both have our eyes examined every 12-24 months with an optometrist, get a copy of our prescriptions and order our frames/lenses and contacts from the comfort of our home. Ordering our glasses online alone saves us a ton of money. I don’t think I have ever paid less than $150 for glasses and lenses at with an optician and the most I’ve paid online was maybe $50. I have paid as little as $9.95. It is also significantly cheaper to order my contacts online.

I recently needed to refill my contact prescription and though my contacts were still cheap, the site wanted to charge me an additional $13 in shipping and taxes. By spending a few minutes doing a quick Google search for a promo code, I was able to save $10 on shipping. I don’t know how many people would think to do this but when I order or book anything online it’s something that usually pays off spending the time to search or call.

Brand New Bed

During my first pregnancy, I noticed how increasingly uncomfortable our bed was becoming. I assumed it was the pregnancy but it wasn’t until I was home from the hospital and realized the mattress itself was actually warped. Since the bed was only five years old I decided to call the store we bought it from to see if they could offer any insight. As uncomfortable as the bed was, buying a new one on my maternity leave budget was not an option. I was happy to find out my phone call paid off. They would replace it no questions asked. I simply had to snap a few pictures for the warranty process and they cut us a cheque to buy a new bed the very next day. Not only did we get a brand new bed almost 50% off, our new bed was cheaper than our old one and we ended up with a little extra cash in hand. If you’re unsure it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Bills

One of our luxuries is paying for cable. We go back and forth about canceling it but in the end, we always end up keeping it. It’s something we all enjoy and especially with me going on another maternity leave, I wanted to keep it but that doesn’t mean I like paying full price for anything. I made another simple phone call and after talking to a few people was able to save over $50 per month off our bundle package (cable and internet). $600 per year is a significant savings!

My experience with most of my friends and family is that they’re all too quick to just deal with something before asking any questions. They rarely negotiate bills, replace before seeing if something can be fixed, and in general aren’t comfortable asking questions about money. I have experienced though, many times over that by simply asking a few questions you can save a sizeable amount of money.

How often do you question your bills or ask for discounts?

While you’re at it, here are a few posts from our friends:

What Are the Various Colors of Diamonds?

| Leave a Comment

wedding-2497820_640

Whether you want to believe it or not is up to you, but diamonds definitely vary in color. There are different options to choose from. Some diamonds are perfectly clear and some diamonds are near clear, some diamonds have a faint tint, some diamonds have very light colors, and some diamonds have clearly visible color.

This is known as the diamond color grading scale. It was put together many years ago and diamond experts and jewelers from across the world use this scale to grade various diamond colors. We’ll look at it greater detail right now.

Diamonds Graded D through F: Colorless

When diamonds fall on the colorless portion of the diamond scale, you know that you are looking at something completely special. You are looking at one of the more rare diamonds in the world, which is why it is so much more expensive than other options.

Buying a rare diamond is totally worth it if you have the money, but it will cost you a pretty penny. If you’re buying a diamond as part of an engagement ring, it certainly couldn’t hurt to buy a colorless diamond. Your fiancé will be the talk of the town when everybody sees her amazing diamond ring.

Diamonds Graded G through J: Near Colorless

The near colorless diamond range is an excellent range for your particular diamond to be in if you’re interested in buying it. It’s not completely colorless, which means it’s going to cost less than the grades mentioned above, but the color is so slight and hardly visible that the average person will not be able to see it with their naked eye. They need some type of magnification device in order to recognize the colors in diamonds on this particular range of the scale.

Diamonds Graded K through M: Faint Color

Diamonds that make up a faint color fall in this range for a very specific reason. It is certainly now possible to recognize the color within the diamonds, but this is a very appealing diamond nonetheless for many people looking to buy a beautiful stones without spending a small fortune. In fact, this range in the diamond scale consisting of diamonds K, L, and M are actually the most popular choices currently available today.

Diamonds Graded N through R: Very Light Color

At this point on the diamond color scale, anything that falls under this range will have a clearly noticeable color. Most people tend to avoid diamonds on this portion of the scale because the colors are bright enough that they are noticeable and it makes the diamonds look dirty and unclear. Many people do not like this particular look for their diamonds so they avoid them.

Diamonds Graded S through Z: Light Color

Diamonds on this portion of the color scale certainly consist of the most color out of every diamond mentioned today. This might seem hard to believe, but these diamonds are actually a little popular and certainly more popular than very light color diamonds. People buy them because they think it’s cool and interesting to have a yellow or brown colored diamond.

Free Pet Adoptions

| Leave a Comment

free pet adoptions

Kids have a way of asking for things that don’t come cheap, but fortunately there are some cute exceptions: free pet adoptions.

This year, humane societies across the U.S. are offering free pet adoptions on August 19, and including some $200 worth of free pet services with the deal.

The free pet services typically include free spaying or neutering, vaccinations, a voucher for a free first visit to a veterinarian and a coupon offering a one-time discount on pet supplies at a participating retailer.

All of this has been coordinated across the country by a group called Clear the Shelters, which publishes a map of participating humane societies posted online on its website.

Even More Free Pet Adoptions

Numerous participating shelters are extending the promotion throughout the entire weekend. Others have additional free adoption dates throughout the year, based on whenever local supply verges on exceeding facilities’ capacity.

Spring and summer are common times of the year for free adoptions – based on prevailing patterns in puppy and kitten births along with when people typically relocate to homes that don’t allow pets.

For all of these reasons, about 6.5 million animals enter shelters each year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. About 3.3 million them are dogs and 3.2 million are cats.

Help Rein in Overpopulation

Like their names suggest, humane societies strive to prevent cruelty to animals by addressing overpopulation – from sterilization to finding homes. Unfortunately, the number of animals who enter shelters exceeds the number who are adopted.

Each year, roughly half of the animals who enter shelters each year are adopted – 1.6 million dog and 1.6 million cats this past year. Another 710,000 million animals turned out to be strays who got returned to their owners.

No one likes to talk about what happens to the animals who don’t get adopted – even at shelters that have no-kill policies. And that’s why we hope to see continued growth in free pet adoption days. It’s can be cheaper in the long run for shelters to give more pets away than have to allocate resources to euthanization.

Fortunately, adoptions and returns to original owners has driven down the euthanization rate from 2.6 million in 2011 to 1.5 million in the most recent year tallied as of this writing. Even among animal shelters with no-kill policies (like San Francisco), some pets are still put down due to failing health or behavioral problems.

The Best Gift You Can Give Your Family

Let’s steer this article back toward happy things, shall we? Adopting pets benefits society in addition to your family. This is one of the cheapest and longest-lasting gifts you can give your family.

Free adoptions represent cost savings well beyond the $100 to $200 you might pay to adopt a pet at other times during the year. It costs considerably more to buy them from a pet store and substantially more from a breeder – the latter putting even four-digit price tags on them.

We wish that the cost savings would inspire more people to adopt than buy from breeders. Ultimately no pet is free because you still have to feed them and provide at least a minimum of medical services.

One estimate puts the total first year cost of owning a dog at $1,270 and a cat at $1,070 – thereafter annual costs for both typically run about half that. In multi-pet households it can be even more affordable per animal due to economies of scale.

We Already Own Pets

Over two thirds of U.S. households already have at least one pet. As many as 47% of U.S. households have at least one dog and up to 37% of them have at least one cat, says the ASPCA.

The American Pet Products Association says that 34% of dogs are purchased from breeders, while 23% of dogs and 31% of cats are obtained from an animal shelter or humane society. By contrast around 27% of cats are acquired as strays.

Interestingly, about 40% of dog owners and 46% of cat owners learned about their pets through word-of-mouth, according to APPA. While the organization’s survey results don’t spell out whether the word-of-mouth scenarios were free adoptions or discounted sales, the implication is there.

Foster Pets

And that leads us to one other great way to obtain free pet adoptions year-round: foster-to-adopt. This might be one of the best-kept secrets among shelters – foster kittens or puppies and then if you decide you want to make a permanent home for any of them, the shelter usually waives the adoption fees.

Best of all you don’t have to choose between temporary fostering and permanent adoption – you can do both. And you can continue to foster new incoming animals even after adopting. This is a great option for households that already have pets and want to help out with overpopulation in their respective areas.

Bringing home animals from your local shelter can help instill values in your children surrounding compassion, thrift and responsibility. When you stipulate that your kids care for the pet, the learning can be profound. And watching them grow up with pets is priceless.

5 Apps That Teach Children a Cool Skill

| Leave a Comment

Here are five apps that teach a cool skill like cursive, cartooning, and foreign language.Apps seem to be a dime a dozen these days, so finding the right ones can be daunting. When I search through the sea of choices, it’s much simpler to choose something with ABC’s and 123’s to ensure it educates my kids. But then I wondered, are there any apps that teach children a cool skill instead of just the basics?

Yes, “cool” is relative, but after some digging, I found some unique options for you to try.

A Quick Word About Screen-Time for Young Children

We all know that screen-time is best used in moderation. However, in recent studies, I’ve discovered one other significant reason to limit my children’s time parked in front of the screen. Even if it’s educational material, I believe this is still an important thought to consider.

According to this study released on NPR.org, when children decrease their time in front of screens, they are able to read human emotions more easily. The ability to learn from communication, social cues, and problem-solving with others is a need that humans have their entire lives. Using a screen removes the interactive portion of development and threatens to affect a child’s social behavior well into adulthood.

I definitely give my kids screen-time, but I also try to spend a lot of unplugged time with them. That door swings both ways. The kids have to put away their gadgets, and mom must put down her phone.

Bonus Reading: “7 Screen-Free Activities for Preschoolers”

5 Apps That Teach Children a Cool Skill

Cursive Writing Skills – Cursive Writing Wizard Letters

Available for iOS or Android

Cursive writing is no longer required in many schools, even though it’s one of the most beautiful art forms we each can learn. To help your young child develop her own skills with cursive, try this app.

After using the app for a time, work together on writing the real letters on paper so she can better apply what she has learned.

Foreign Language Skills – Duolingo

Available for iOS and Android

Never has it been more relevant than today to teach your child a second language. Expose him to the rich diversity of languages throughout the world with Duolingo – from Spanish to Italian to Chinese.

Sign Language Skills – ASL Kids

Available for iOS and Android

Another amazing skill your children might enjoy learning is American Sign Language. Both of my children started learning when they were infants and loved mimicking my motions. As they got older, we spent time each day at the breakfast table going through their letters, numbers, foods, colors, days of the week, etc.

For something that is so fun to practice and so beneficial to those who use sign language as their primary form of communication, this is definitely one of my top apps that teach children a cool skill.

Money Management Skills – Dinorama

Available for iOS

How better to understand money management, multi-tasking, and running a business than to run your own dinosaur theme park? Dinorama offers children (age 7 and up) the challenge of building their empire from the ground up. This can lead to some great conversations at the dinner table or in the car (after the game is put away) about money management in the real world.

Creative Drawing Skills – Toontastic

Available for iOS

Try Painting Drawing Dooble Kids as an alternative for Android.

Learning to draw can become a lifelong hobby or even a career. With today’s booming commerce on the internet, the creatives have more avenues in which to publish their work than ever. If your child enjoys doodling, cartooning, or any other type of illustration, try out Toontastic.

Do you have older children? Check out “Essential Apps Every Student Must Have.”

Which of these 5 apps would you have loved to use when you were a kid? Share in the comments below.

If I Let My Baby Run the Budget

| Leave a Comment

If I let my baby run the budget...things would definitely work differently...If I let my baby run the budget, things would work a little differently. Have you ever given such a funny thing a thought?

Let’s see…

If I Let My Baby Run the Budget

We’d buy the grocery store’s entire milk supply, I’m quite sure, skipping all the other aisles.

Sleepwear would replace our normal attire. We’d quadruple our sock supply.

If I let my baby run the budget, diapers would line the walls (in infant and adult sizes…). Enough for five to seven changes a day, right?

Pillows and blankets would also see an uptick. There would most likely be a fresh set in every room (and vehicle). After all, she’d be budgeting for all of us to take one to three naps every day (not bad at all).

What Wouldn’t Show Up On the Budget

As I thought about all the things my baby would buy if it were up to her, I realized something. The list was far shorter and simpler than mine.

If I let my baby run the budget, there wouldn’t be a column for snacks, caffeine, or Hostess cupcakes. It’s sad, but true. There would eventually be an interest in fresh produce, namely bananas, avocados, and sweet potatoes. I’m thinking a juicer would show up on the scene with some pretty rad smoothie cups for each of us.

No cable bill or RedBox late fees would pop up on our statement. Collectors wouldn’t rag us about our debts because we wouldn’t have credit cards. There wouldn’t be stacks of fast food receipts or empty Starbucks cups because we’d eat every meal at home.

In fact, very little would be spent on organized recreation at all. A baby’s favorite place to be is in the arms of the one she loves, after all.

We’d save a fortune on toys and gizmos, too, if I had to guess. Her favorite pastimes are chewing on table legs, plastic spoons, wooden blocks, and mommy’s fingers, so there wouldn’t be much need for anything else.

What gas we did buy for the car would be used for those milk runs I was telling you about and trips to her happiest home away from home: Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Lucky for her, grandparents love traveling to see their grandkids, so a barter agreement worked very well in her favor to save on gas.

If I let my baby run the budget, I bet I’d learn a thing or two about life through the eyes of my child. I bet I’d realize how expensive my expectations are for the type of life I think she should have. Contentment would stop eluding me. We would shut off our devices and look at each other, again.

If I let my baby run the budget, it could be the best thing that ever happened to us.

The only problem would come if we ever decided to have another baby…I’m guessing she wouldn’t be too keen on changing her spending habits to move over for baby brother…

If you let your child run the budget, how different do you think your finances would look?

7 Screen-Free Activities for Preschoolers

| Leave a Comment

Here are several screen-free activities for preschoolers!The last thing you’ll ever hear me say is that I’ll never let my kids use technology. Part of their world will always be tied to it. However, I don’t want them to become overstimulated and addicted. To put up healthy boundaries, here are several screen-free activities for preschoolers – since both of my children are that age.

These activities have worked in my family. Now it’s my turn to hand them over to you.

I notice subtle changes in my children’s behavior when they’re in front of a screen for too long. After doing some research, I now understand better what those changes are.

Or more importantly, what they could become.

What does the research say?

Preschoolers don’t reflect the more serious side effects of too much technology, but the average child eight years and older is spending 8 to 11 hours per day looking at a screen, according to the NY Times. What suffers as a result?

Emotional connect. Reasoning skills. Coping mechanisms. The ability to process thoughts, anxieties, and problems.

All those developmental skills are under attack when screens dominate a child’s day, according to this report from NPR.

The earlier we create boundaries for our children’s time with technology, the better their transition into adulthood will be.

7 Screen-Free Activities for Preschoolers

Read books.

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.  ― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Establishing a daily reading habit with your child is a great way to advance his development away from screens. To change things up, try attending a reading time at your local library or purchase some nonfiction books (i.e. a picture dictionary or a book all about what your child loves most).

We keep a basket in between the children’s car seats so they can pick out a book to read on their own while I drive.

Listen to audio books.

One my kids’ favorite activities is listening to audio books. We pull up “reading chairs” so they know it’s time to sit and listen (you could also cut out cardboard circles with their names on them or set out folded blankets).

The library offers lots of variety when it comes to audio stories for kids. Turn the pages for the children until they get the hang of it and can follow along by themselves.

This activity promotes sitting still, listening, learning by spoken word, and early reading along.

Make believe a favorite character.

During an episode of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, my children watched the characters try on several different costumes and parade around the play room. Once we shut the TV off, my kids instantly wanted to be like those characters, so we grabbed some play clothes and made it happen.

This activity helps kids develop their imagination, and helps them understand that not all fun happens on the other side of a screen.

Bring mess-free travel crafts.

Screen-free activities for toddlers especially come in handy in the car. Have a basket of mess-free crafts, book or toys can help them learn to occupy themselves without DVDs or iPads.

One of my go-to examples is the Melissa and Doug Paint with Water book. These last a long time, help your children learn hand-eye coordination, and never leave a mess behind.

They also make great birthday presents for other children. Find them here.

Build something.

Whether it’s a fort made from couch cushions or a castle made from LEGOs, building something is immensely beneficial to your preschooler. It’s like you can see the smoke rising from the wheels turning in their brain as they problem solve each piece of the puzzle or tower.

My favorite toy that helps my children develop these skills is the Mega Bloks Big Building Bag.
It’s an 80-piece set of easy-to-use building blocks that can be added to over time and at any age.

Getting outside.

Staying active is next to impossible while a child is hooked up to a screen. Just like you can create a reading time every day, try to take the kids outside each day. You can take them to the park, for a walk, to the zoo, the pool, on a field trip, or just out to the driveway with some sidewalk chalk.

Study the world together.

Last Christmas, my husband and I gave our children a globe. Over the last year, we’ve looked at it together and studied the numerous intricacies of our world. Yes, you can download Google Earth for free, but studying a 3D globe in a group is different. The children can feel the earth. They feel the mountain ranges, spin the planet on its axis, and wrap their arms around its round shape.

Being able to study that together creates a discussion format that wouldn’t likely happen through an app.

For more ways to keep your kids busy without putting them in front of a  screen check out these articles.

8 Simple Rainy Day Activities For Kids
Three Inexpensive Spring Break Ideas
How to Save Money On Kids Toys

 

What screen-free activities for preschoolers does your family enjoy?

Image Credit: Frank McKenna (UnSplash)

This post may contain affiliate links.

How Much, If Any, Should You Pay Your Kids For Chores?

| Leave a Comment

Should you pay your kids for chores? The answer isn't always so simple. Here's an idea of when you should and shouldn't.When kids are young there aren’t many ways for them to earn money of their own. Household chores are an easy and accessible way for kids to do so. Unlike an allowance, which I think is something that, when given, should be given out of funds that would already be allocated to the child, earning money from chores is a way of kids to work for their money.

I think there should be a level of expectation being a child who lives at home in terms of contribution to the household. Being a kid isn’t an excuse to not contribute to daily chores. Even at three years of age, my daughter is expected to help clean every mess she makes, as well she helps me with easy tasks like unload the dishwasher or simply putting something in the garbage can when asked. We have friends however, who do everything for their kids.

Children need to understand that running a house isn’t ‘’free’’. There is a lot of work and effort that goes into it and the responsibility isn’t just the parent(s). Everyone who lives under the roof should use their abilities to contribute.

In my opinion there are certain chores should never be paid for. Every child should have basic chores regardless of age. These chores should be determined by the parents, taking many things into consideration, but basics like maintain a clean room, help with laundry (a life skill they need to know) and help with meal prep and cleanup are examples of ‘’chores’’ that are expected, not rewarded for.

If a child is looking to earn money consider making a chore chart. A list of ‘’extra’’ chores, with an associated dollar amount which they can choose from if and when they need additional money.

Examples may include something like:

  • Clean garage- $10
  • Wash mom/dad’s car- $10
  • Weed yard- $20
  • Clean litter box (dump old litter and wash)- $5

These are household tasks that need to be taken care of and give the child the opportunity to do so. Notice there is no simple tasks like ‘’make bed’’ or ‘’put away laundry’’, again these are simple tasks that are expected to be done regardless.

My experience is that too often kids leave home with a diluted perception of how a house is run. So many kids leave home never cooking a meal, turning on a washer, using a clothesline or washing dishes and it terrifies me. Chores aren’t established as a way for parents to have control over their children (though there is some of that too ;)) it’s a way of teaching responsibly and life lessons.

How a family decides to establish a chore system is unique to each family but not having a child do any household chores only does damage to the kid and their future.

Do you enforce household chores? What, if anything do you pay your kids for?