Teresa's segment on teens and money

[connie1042]

First off, I want to say, I did not drive until I was 25. I lived in a large city and just used public transportation. I had my first job at 15 at a drive- in restaurant. We did not have much money. I was raised by my mom only. She never received any welfare benefits like most single parents do today. We went to a private school from grades 1-8. ( I have no idea how she did this) We bought most of our own clothes thru high school. We spent our days going to the public swimming pool, and were thrilled when we got an extra quarter to spend on a couple of treats. I married at 19, have been married for almost 40 years. My kids were raised to work for what they wanted. They paid for most of their own collage. They all finished in 4 years, and very seldom skipped classes. I do daycare and I have to say, these kids do expect a lot. I have 3 families on assistance. They have no concept of you have to work to obtain things you want. All three of these families parents do NOT work. Why they get daycare assistance, is beyond me. Their kids think you just have to ask the county and they will take care of everything. I had one 14 year old girl tell me it she got pregnant, she would not have to pay for the baby anyway, because she could get help from welfare, like her parents. She also stated that her mom has carpel tunnel, so she is disabled. We are teaching kids that they do not have to work for what they want. I agree with they all think they are entitled. I have to give Teresa a pat on the back for not giving in. Does Grace realize that most of the people that go to the parks, saved for years to get there, and that it is a one time trip. Living that close to WDW and Universal is great entertainment, but it is not the normal drop off point for most kids. Good job Teresa!

 

[newmouse2008]

Thanks Connie..... I tell my kids how lucky they are to be able to go to the parks as much as they do. I really hope the leesons we try to teach them are getting thru.

T.

 

[Lease]

I think it was a great segment. Sounds like Teresa's kids are going to have a good idea of how to manage their money and budget for what they really want. I have to agree with the OP that there are many people who have undeserved sense of entitlement.
I got my first job at 14 and paid for everything on my own after that from school to clothes. I doubt I'll force my kids to get a job as early as I did, but they'll understand the importance of working and saving for what you really want.
I may even do what my Dad did for allowance. Every week he would bring me a bank statement showing he deposited money ($5) in the bank. From my10th birthday on he 'gave' me my allowance this way. At first I hated it because I never had any cash. Even at that age he was teaching me how to save for the things I really wanted. It also taught me that I didn't need to buy every new toy I saw.
My kids are still a bit to young to have a conversation about saving vs spending, but I look forward to teaching them how to save money and how important it is to work for what you want. Maybe it'll really sink in when I explain that I bought my first car with money (mostly) saved from my allowance.

 

[hockeymomNS]

Loved the OP's thoughts and Theresa's segment.

I have a new spin on this as well.

My 18 yr old son is quite the athlete. He just graduated high school and played football, hockey and track all through. Obviously he couldn't get a job, maintain marks and play sports. We wanted to support him in sports, not only from the health perspective, but busy kids don't have as much time to get in to trouble. We gave hime $10 or so dollars a week and let him play sports as long as his marks and behavior maintained a certain level. Also in this deal was the fact that car insurance for boys is very expensive, so he is just learning to drive now. For us, this worked wonderful. On top of getting great marks, having a wonderful experience playing 3 high school sports, he is a great young man. He got a small scholarship to university, managed to save some money before the end of school and has just about enough saved from a full time summer job, to pay for his first year of school. I am really proud of him. He can live at home and still work part time (at another job he just got), while going to school.