Is it wrong for him to earn money for D.W?

[DisneyDorkORama]

It seems like every time I mention something about my son (who is 5) earning spending money for Disney World, I get some kind of rude response.

I posted on a local Moms message board about ideas for my son to earn money for our trip. And someone replied with that he shouldnt have to earn his own money. I said it was just extra spending money. And then my friend said to me Why did he have to earn his own spending money that she thought it was my job to give him the money for him to spend.

He is 5 and I am looking for simple things he can do to earn money, not making him get a job and pay for his own way.

He has been asking me if he can sell lemonade and I told him he could, if it would ever stop raining.

I dont see him earning money for our trip any different then him doing chores around the house to earn money to go spend at like the dollar store or for some candy.

Am I wrong for doing this?

 

[imthatgirl]

My kids are 4,6 and 9 and they're all earning money to take with them. However they are earning it from me.
I have told them I have $100 for each of them IF they keep their rooms clean, do their chores and do anything extra I ask of them over the next 2 weeks.

But this is the way it is in this house for all spending money. I never just hand my kids money. No one hands me money...you want something you earn it.

 

[Bephus]

DS is 3 and he us earning his extra spending $. He has to make his bed every morning and if he helps me with chores around the house he gets additional. He loves earning his money and often asks what he can do to earn more. I love it too as it is teaching him responsiblity.

 

[lovetoscrap]

Nope! And you may find that he is much more cautious on how he spends the money once it is "his" and he worked for it.

I have always given my girls $25 each for spending on extras and beyond that they have to use their own money that they had earned for doing extra chores around the house. Thinks like washing the windows (they LOVE that job!) or scrubbing the floor (the put on bathing suits and got buckets of soapy water so another one they loved to do!), or any other little thing that they could do to help out beyond what was already expected of them.

But I don't think they ever spent that money they earned. They became more critical at looking at things and deciding that the toy would probably break, the doll is just like one they already have, they can get a princess coloring book at home for cheaper etc... In fact several times they didn't even spend all of the $25 because I let them keep what they didn't spend!

It is good for kids to be able to earn their own money. They are very proud of the money that they worked for and it helps them learn responsibility and the value of a dollar. I would just come up with some extra little chores that he can do -- don't expect them to be done perfectly, you are mostly rewarding the effort at that age-- and a lemon-aid stand is great.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Wow...we've been having DD do little chores since she was 2 for "spending money" at WDW!!!!!!!!!!

Any substantial money she receives during the year for gifts goes in the college account. But if she does a little sometime around the house, grandparents slip her a $1, tooth fairy comes, the money goes in the WDW fund.

Personally, I think the same theory that applies to older children applies to little ones. They earn the money- they appreciate it more. DD took $140 to WDW in October and the ONLY thing she bought was a package of rock candy and she did the oyster picking thing in Japan. When it's her money, she's less apt to ask for things. Now, in fairness, we got to WDW yearly so we don't typically spend a lot of $$$ on souvies. She knows in general not to ask for things because we are not buying them. A couple of pins maybe but that's about it. However, when it's her money, she can chose what she wants and let me tell you- so far she has not blown it on stupid things

 

[3happydancers]

We've been doing this since our first trip when my DD was 6. She actually "likes" it. Now she is 12 and, wow, can she save for something she wants! We, of course, still treat her, but having taught my DD to save for "something" has been a valuable lesson for her that she will carry with her through out her life.

GREAT JOB!

 

[snugglepeas]

I think it's a great idea for him to earn his spending money, after all you had to earn the money to take the trip, and as a plus of earning the money on his own he may not be so loose with the money and really think about what he wants before getting the gimme gimme gimmies like alot of kids seem to do at Disney.

 

[Happy Mom2]

I think it's a great thing! I am doing the same with my 2 and 4 year old. Everyone has their own parenting style. Only YOU know what is best for YOUR chilldren.

 

[luvmy2babies]

I like the idea and I'd do it if our trip wasn't going to be a surprise for my daughter. She gets an allowance for cleaning her room and helping with her brother. She also dusts furniture, helps me fold laundry, puts her laundry away and puts her brother's laundry away. Right now, the money goes into her savings account. She gets to spend gift money.

I may though begin to load a Disney Gift card with the money she earns and add more to it for our upcoming trip. I'll probably buy a couple of them…will be easier than carrying cash.

She definitely needs to learn more about the value of money.

 

[3monkeys4me]

Dd is 6 and she often has to use her own money for things. In fact she recently needed a new bike helmet. I took her to the bike shop to be fitted and then went home to by the helmet online. I found a helmet on closeout for $32.xx. DD wanted one that was $45.xx because it was purple with blue flowers instead and pink and blue. We had her pay the difference.

We give her a lot of different ways to earn money and she gets money from 3 sets of grandparents for every holiday ( about $35 every Valentine's Day, Easter, July 4th, etc...). I think it is important for kids to learn to save and to work for what they want.

 

[set1208]

I can't believe people would scold you for teaching responsibility to you kids! Good luck to them when they're kids get older and expect everything to be handed to them.

My DD9 has been earning money since she was little. She saves for Disney, or whatever else she wants. Recently she was careless and broke her DS that we bought for her. Instead of replacing it for her, we had her save half and we covered the other half. She's been very cautious with the second one...lol

When we go to Disney, we're already paying for the hotel, tickets, food...the kids don't NEED souveniers so saving their own money for it is a great idea and it teaches them not to expect us to spoil them with little trinkets that are eventually going to make their way to the bottom of the toy box in a month.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

Oh gosh no! I think it's a great idea.

 

[ancestry]

I think having him earn his own money is a GREAT idea!

However I refuse to pay my children for doing chores around the house. In my household everyone has to help without expecting financial gain as that is what is required when part of a family.

 

[ZeroMyHero]

People are so strange. Why would it be wrong to teach a child financial responsibility? Like you said, it's not like you're making him pay his own way. He'll be excited about having his own money and he'll probably think twice about spending it, with guidance from you of course. Don't listen to those people who say you're making a mistake - they don't know what they're talking about!

 

[MSSANDRA]

Of course it's a good idea to let you child earn some extra money. If they do have regular chores, find them a few extra jobs to do for you to earn that extra money. Be sure they are real jobs that they feel good about!!

I am not crazy about the lemmon-ade stand idea but doing jobs for you or grandma are great.

 

[angelat]

It's been my personal experience that the money that my children earn is not as easily spent as money that is just given to them. On the flip side though, for our first trip to WDW in 2008, we allotted $50 per park (including SW and US) for each child. We told them that if they didn't use the money on any given day, they could roll it over and have more the next day or the end of the trip and whatever they didn't spend they could take home and keep. My DS had over $100 when he got home. Unfortunately, my DD wasn't so frugel. She had less than $20 I believe. Our next trip they'll have to earn all of their spending money. The first trip was a "freebie".

I think you are giving your child a good sense of financial responsibility starting at a young age. Unfortunately, it does seem to be something that has gone by the wayside in our culture. (no flames please) I applaud you for your efforts!

 

[monkeybug]

On the message board were you looking for advice on outside sources for your son to earn money? Things like yard work or household chores for people other than you?
I could see how if that's what you were asking about, some people might feel 5 is a bit young.
I personally think lemonade sales, yard sales, and extra chores around the house are great way's for young kids to earn spending money for vacations. You could be there to supervise, and it's at your own home.
I probably wouldn't allow any outside work, just because I wouldn't want family, neighbors, or friends to feel like I was taking advantage of them or asking for money. It could be hard to say no to a cute 5 year old looking for Disney money.
I would never allow a child that young to do any sort of work for strangers (and I'm assuming you wouldn't either)
Sorry if that's not what you meant. That's just what I thought of when I read your post.
I think making kids earn their money is great! It's what we do at our house too!

 

[Nancyg56]

My DGD haas been earning money and saing for DIsney spending since she was 5. She has always saved her money and used it when she went "shopping". By the time she was 5 she wanted to trade pins in a big way so she saved enought to put towards a lot from Ebay. Believe me, she is not overworked but she sure is careful with her spending. It is nice to see because now she will not let us buy something that she really does not want simply because we offered. I believe that letting children earn, save adn tehn spend their own money helps to encourage financial responsibility. Good for you!

 

[skw444]

I think it's a great idea! My 7 year old last Halloween wanted a "deluxe" costume that I was not willing to pay for. So, she earned the money for the difference between the regular costume that I would pay for and the deluxe costume that she wanted. She was so proud of her costume and truly appreciated it more because she "earned" it.

 

[RMulieri]

You are not wrong..No kid is too small to start doing "jobs" to earn some money.As long as the jobs are age appropriate and nothing dangerous it is a great idea that teaches independence, responsibility and money saving