Do your kids know how much you make?

[jeepgirl30]

My DD kept asking me how much i make exactly. I told her enough that we can pay the bills, do some extras and take a vacation each year. I do review with her what things cost, like electric bill, gas, groceries etc but I do not tell her my salary. To me that is very private info. I don't want her going around telling her friends or my friends.

This morning she got really mad and said her teacher said by this age if the kids don't know how much their parents make there is something wrong.

I never had a clue how much my dad made. Never asked. I knew he worked hard and money had to be managed but I knew i had a roof over my head, clothes on my back and food.

I think the teacher is wrong to make that judgement call. Am i totally off base?

 

[ilovemk76]

A child does not need to know what the parents make. The child needs to learn how to manage money. Kids need to know what bills cost.

 

[mombrontrent]

This is a persoanl decision and I think the teacher is totally off base. Who makes a comment like that anyways, wierd

I never knew exactly what my parents made either and never asked because I thought it would be rude to do so.

My two daughters never asked so I do not think they know or care to know our exact income. My DS13 does know how much we make as my DH has told him. They are both into business and finance and my son even has some money invested in the stock market via my DH. They enjoy this type of thing so my DH has discussed our income, bills ect with him.

 

[Ginny Favers]

My kids think we are poor because I always tell them NO when they want things.

 

[2disneyboys]

my kids are still young so the few times something like this has come up I responded essentially the same as you. I don't know that it will ever be their "business" as to what DH & I actually earn.

What is thier business is that DH & I work together to provide a solid stable foundation for our family and that we also teach our boys sound financial groundings. Its important for them to know how to earn money, how to budget money and how to be responsible with money. Money is not the "end all to be all" however, money does make life less stressful to an extent.

 

[EMHDad]

I picked other. My kids are too young to understand.

 

[wiigirl]

My kids are still pretty young....but my preference is that they not know how much I make.

 

[mombrontrent]

My kids think we are poor because I always tell them NO when they want things.

My kids used to think this when they were younger too! If they asked for something I would always say no or that I did not have enough money. It quickly put an end to the asking. Sometimes sales clerks looked at me funny when I said I did not have enough money for that pack of gum but I never cared

Now they do realize that we are truly not poor so I tell them that is because I always say NO to buying extras and that we are not poor because we are frugal.

 

[JamesMom]

My kids are only 7 and 10 and I tend to not shy away from financial discussions, but they do not know how much DH makes. However, they do know how much our mortgage and other bills are and how much we need to save (ie, not spend on the toy/gadget now) to go to WDW this December. My 10 yr old asks about insurance and savings to which I reply yes and enough that if Daddy was out of work for 6 months we would be fine. That is all they need to know.
I knew how much my dad made growing up so I didn't have this mystic around finances. I still made plenty of bad decisions, but I don't have a problem talking about spending/saving and costs of stuff with anybody especially if I got a great deal, but adhere to the social norm of being mum about salary.

 

[indimom]

They are teens so they could certainly figure it out if they want to. It's not like we hide the statements and they've certainly sat next to me while I was working on the computer balancing our budgets. They just don't really care.

 

[capshockeygrl]

I'm 30 and still don't know what my parents make. I don't think it's any of my business.

 

[brookmey]

We don't tell out kids because they don't need to know. It is personal info between the parents. My 8 year old does ask, though. She's been learning about needs v. wants and budgeting at school, so I tell her we have enough money for our needs and some of our wants.

 

[glvsav37]

My kids are too young, 7 and 3.

But my daughter (7) always asks me why I need to go to work. I tell her it's to "make money" for things like food, the house an of course go to Disney

Funny, one day I came home and was showing her my portfolio--I'm a graphic designer. When I told her that "daddy makes these books at work" she look at me funny and replied "but I thought you made money?"

 

[momto2girls]

Yes, my children know our household income.

 

[minkydog]

No, my adult kids do not know, other than their dadbis on SSDI so our income is.limited. recently I got a new job so our income went up dramatically. But I still don't tell the kids. At their ages, they would look at our income and.think "Woot! We hit the jackpot." But they make $8-10/hr. Neither has a Car payment, mortgage, insurance premiums, etc, so their money is theirs to spend or waste. OTOH, we have all that and more.
I just don't think they'd understand and it might cause bad feelings.between us.

 

[njmom47]

I answered "ballpark figure" because I want them to know how much is taken out of my paycheck (for their health insurance, taxes, 401k, savings, etc).

I want them to realize just because you MAKE $$ doesn't mean you get to keep it all.

DH gets paid every 2 weeks so that is a good lesson in budgeting.

They are young adults with their own money (except for ds17) so they do have a taste of reality.

 

[mom2rb]

My husband pays the bills. I pay for everything for the kids, dance, gymnastics, private school, competition and travel fees, ect. For about a year I made the boys pay the bills with me. They needed to see that I was working for them and I needed help around the house. It made a world of difference with their appreciation of everything I do. They now thank me when I cook and they help more.

 

[HM]

I never knew what my parents made and our kids (both late teens) don't know how much we make either. That teacher is wrong.

 

[emer95]

My daughter is in 8th grade, but she's taking an AP class at the high school which is excellent. It's called Career and Financial Management, and it has led to many interesting discussions in our house. She had to research several careers, and learn how to create a budget from a minimum wage job, and then a higher paying job. At the end of the year she's going to shadow a professional in a career that she might be interested in. I can't say enough good things about this class.

Anyway, my daughter was curious how much money a teacher makes (I'm a teacher) so I told her. I didn't want to keep it a secret.

I would NEVER encourage my own students to ask their parents such a personal question.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

I can remember when I was a junior in high school, I had to do the family income section of the SAT form. I went to my dad, and he filled it. So, I obviously had no clue. My kids do not know what my DH makes; however, they do know that my new job makes just about 50 cents more than I pay a babysitter. Ha!