Keeping Track of Money

One very important life lesson is to understand how much money you are given and owed back and keep track of both.  This can be hard for children so you have to make a point of what they need to keep track of until they are able to do so on their own.

My son wanted a remote-control car; a nice one. We had bought some cheap ones and they literally did not work. I saw my son disappointed so many times, it was time to make an investment in a nice one.   

The nice remote-control car was going to cost $130, so I told Kai he had to pay for it, if he wanted it. He said enthusiastically yes. We went to his piggy bank and counted out $140 dollars. He did not have exact change, we did not have any ten’s. I told him he needed to get two things back from that store on his trip with Daddy.  

The purchased item of the remote-control car would come along with a receipt. You always want to keep the receipt for big purchases I told him in case something is wrong and we need to bring it back to the store (especially with a cash purchase but we didn’t go into all that detail at this stage). Also, I reminded him he was over paying by ten-dollars, so he needed to bring his change back and put it in the piggy bank. 

I must say I had a very proud parent moment when I was going for a stroll with our baby and Daddy and Kai returned from the store. The car approached me and the back passenger window rolled down and there was Kai with a big grin. He was sitting in his car seat holding the ten-dollar bill and the receipt, with a huge smile. My smile was equally large. I told him nice work and asked him did he want me to hold it for safe keeping. He handed it over to me. This felt like a parenting win!