Sophie has earned her first-ever allowance. Beginning this week, she gets $5 every Monday to spend on anything she wants (that she’s allowed to have).
This strategic amount allows her to buy a few small items immediately, or save it for just one week to get a bigger toy in the $10 range. Being a generally responsible child, she listened patiently to my explanation of how an allowance would work and why she might want to save it, and then tucked the money safely in a wallet she’s apparently had stashed away.
And to celebrate, we took a trip to the Dollar Store. As Sophie browsed and weighed the pros and cons of buying each toy she encountered, Mom reminded her that she might want to save some money, in case she needed to buy anything later in the week. Her response, with the most exasperation I’ve ever heard her use:
Mommy, did you forget? I’ll get more money!
Well, that’s almost what we were hoping to teach.
A wallet she had stashed away? There’s something disconcerting about a child who just happens to have a wallet handy for the day she gets an allowance.
Like if you gave her a battery and she puts in a nearby nuclear bomb, mentioning “I was wondering when I’d get a chance to use this.”
Or a hammer, causing her to mention all the problems she has that look like a nail.
Or giving her a cell phone which immediately rings because she already has a customer service job with T-Mobile.