PROS: •Most affordable option •Well supervised and many adults are present
•Your child will be able to socialize with other children •More reliable, won’t call in sick •Licensed and regulated •Maintain privacy, you do not have to open your home
CONS:
•Teachers care for more than one child. Ratio can range from 1 to 3 or 1 to 4 depending on age.
•Very rigid pickup and drop-off times, so if you need care before and after work, you have to make other arrangements •If your child is sick they are unable to attend so you will have to fi nd other arrangements if you cannot take the day off work.
•Your child will be sick more often as they are exposed to more germs. • Turnover is usually high in daycares
Should you reward your child for keeping a clean room or getting good grades at school? By Scott Reeves, Minyanville
Rewards are intended to encourage good behavior, but require a little thought to get right.
First, be careful what you wish for.
“If you reward certain types of behavior, you might end up getting that behavior all the time – and it might be something that you only wanted once in a while,” says Linda Leitz, founder of Pinnacle Financial Concepts in Colorado Springs, Colo. and author of The Ultimate Parenting Map to Money Smart Kids.
If you reward your child for extra help on an unusual or one-time task, make it clear that it’s a singular opportunity and won’t be repeated for a long time, if ever. Underscore that rewards aren’t a routine event and aren’t something that can be counted on each week.
PROS:
•Your child gets to be at home where they are most comfortable and familiar
•Your child is not exposed to the many illnesses in a daycare •One-on-one care is provided •More convenient for the parents as they don’t have to go anywhere to drop off or pick up their child
•Your child can nap and eat on own their own schedule •Flexible to your schedule •More control over rules and values
CONS:
•Cost. Having a Nanny is the most expensive form of childcare. •This care is unsupervised (unless you work from home) so fi nding a Nanny you trust is important.
•Your child isn’t around other kids as much so there is a lack in socialization.
•If your Nanny calls in sick you have to fi nd a replacement or not go to work •Extra costs and hassles to employing someone. Example: paid vacation, payroll taxes, benefi ts. •High turnover may occur if you can not fi nd the right fi t.
If you don’t, your child will seek to build on the one-time event and, when there is no reward, may wrongly conclude that receiving money depends on the whim of others. This undercuts your efforts to link hard work with money and the wise use of money with personal responsibility.
Don’t reward your child for things that you’d require or praise as a matter of course.
It’s a mistake to reward your child for keeping his room clean or for getting good grades at school. Make it clear that good behavior is expected, including study habits that produce good grades and picking the comings-and-goings of growing off the bedroom fl oor.
Leitz offers a deft suggestion on eating out that will save you money now and may save your child money as an adult. It can be easily adapted to other family activities.
TEACHING KIDS ABOUT MONEY: Re
WARDS
If your family eats out too often and runs up a huge bill, have your child assist in the planning and preparation of meals at home. Make it the kid’s responsibility to start the meals at a set time and help with the cleanup.
Next, compare the cost of meals pre- pared at home with restaurants, even fast food. Calculate the difference to be sure your child understands the cost of eating out. Then pay your child 10% of the weekly savings. That rewards frugal behavior and hard work. It also teaches your kid a valuable lesson – and saves you money.
This makes no sense if you regularly eat meals at home and your kids routinely help in the preparation and cleanup.
In that case, make the reward more oblique. Out of the blue, ask your children if they’d like to go out for breakfast on Saturday morning. The answer is almost certain to be a resounding “Yes!” especially if you make the offer just once in a while. The meal will provide a great time to talk – and (eventually) will teach your little one that standing on a chair and reaching across the table to grab a handful of your omelette isn’t a good idea.
Talk about life’s rewards, eh?
VISIT
MINYANVILLE.COM for more on business, fi nance and markets.ey as an adult. It can be easily adapted to other family activities.
AKA Mom | Summer 2011 | 69
Career/Finance
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