Parents should give pocket money to their children.

Parents should give pocket money to their children.

Pocket Money has always been a huge concern for both the parents as well as children. Children want money so that they could spend on their own for the things that they like and parents on the other hand do not want to give money as they are surrounded by their own inhibitions of what will the child do with that money? He may misuse the money and lead onto a wrong path and so on? As every coin has 2 sides, so does this also have, but let me share the advantages of giving pocket money to your child.

The first and foremost benefit of giving pocket money to your child is teaching him to be independent. It is always with children, in fact with adults as well you like to be the opposite of what you are, i.e. children want to behave like grownups whereas adults always feel like going back to their childhood days; So when you give your child pocket money, they appreciate the fact that you have trust in them to handle the amount wisely. When you give them money you can teach them to manage their expenses. Make it very clear to them, the amount that they have received, they have to manage all their expenses within that amount and they will not get an extra amount if they misuse it. Also if you are skeptical if they would misuse the amount, ask them to give you the list of expenditure at the end of the week/ month.

The second benefit is that they will learn to value money. As I mentioned in the first benefit, let them manage their all expenses within the amount. For example, partying, food they want to eat from the canteen, buying pen or pencil. This will inculcate the value for money. They will know how much do things cost like food, stationery and other things that they require. Hence with this learning in mind, it will not be a reality shock for them once they enter the real world where they have to manage the entire finances.

Teach them how to save money, the third benefit. When you give them monthly or weekly pocket money, inculcate a habit of saving in them. For example, if you give them 500Rs for the entire month, you can either ask them to take out may be 100 Rs. And keep as saving or when at the month end you ask them to give you the report of expenditure, ask them how much did they save. If the answer is nil, may be you can say that the next video game they want will be from the money that they save from their pocket money. Also let them learn by their own mistakes. If you keep guiding them they will not learn, but once they make a mistake they will not only learn but will also remember not to commit the mistake in the future. Just an initial guidance should be enough and then whenever they make a mistake, mark it out to them and make them understand the consequences of the mistake.

Now the point comes, how do you want to give the pocket money to your child? Just because your child has asked for money, do not give him. Tell him he has got to earn the pocket money. May be you could tie some daily chores which he/she needs to perform. If they do so, then only will they get the pocket money. Or a valid explanation as to why do they need the money and what will they do out of the money and how much money do they need to fulfil their desires. If it is an exorbitant amount you need to bring down their expectation and let them know how much you can provide them with. Ask the parents of other friends as to how much are they giving their children.

These are some of the ways and benefits of providing pocket money to your child. By being wise you can inculcate many values in your child by giving him pocket money and with the help of right guidance your child will also be on the correct path.