Kids Who Bank

CUTTING THE TECHNOLOGY CORD: For Kids & Adults

kidswhobank — Sun, 04 Sep 2016 17:42:30 +0000

Illustrated by: San Jose State University

If you go out to eat, the park, have a family gathering and a slew of many other events it is a common thing now to see people of all ages on their devices. Here is how I changed it and why….

For kids :

Little eyes glued onto iPads, mobiles and TV’s ignoring everything around them or their chores depending the situation.

That was not acceptable to me but I did not want to be labelled as the mean or uncool old person so would just let them be. I eventually came up with a 50/50 deal where kids had to earn the rights to play with their devices.

As kids enter my home I warn them all devices will be confiscated once seen and they would only get them back upon earning the rights to them. If taken I would then put a sticker on each device in order to identify who it belongs to later.

Kids had to do tasks like play hide and go seek for 30mins, win in a thinking game like Scrabble, help set the dinner table, be a host greeting guests at the door or for the younger ones say their ABC’s, 1,2,3’s / play a basic Simon says game.

One of the best things about engaging them in this mannerism was when the time came for them to get their devices back they were too busy having fun to even think about requesting them.

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For Adults:

The same concept is at play but you give them penalties for picking up their phones within reason. Such as every time an adult touches their phone they have to serve dinner for the night to everyone, or get a smaller piece of dessert or have to put $1 into a jar. This even translates to a date. If you are out with a person who keeps looking at their phone tell them that they have to foot the dinner bill or if they already offered that simply tell them that they might not get another chance to go out with you if it bothers you that much. KEEP IT REAL…

I hope this has given you some ideas.

Feel free to share some technology down time tips.

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A BASE IN MONEY FOR TODDLERS

kidswhobank — Fri, 02 Sep 2016 17:02:08 +0000

The minute your toddler can say the words “can you buy me ice cream?” it is time that they start to learn about money.

You might be wondering what can you do to teach a toddler about the value of all that surround them but let’s not forget that at this phase in their lives they are sponges soaking everything up including what they should do with money and how they should manage it.

WANTS VS NEEDS

very important concept for your child to understand. Until you teach your kid otherwise they think all of their wants or needs should be or can be theirs. How do you train a toddler to understand this you wonder. Start by asking them questions like: do you need to drink some water ? or do you want to eat some ice cream?

That gets the ball rolling.

BUYING POWER

The next time you go to the store with your kid give them $5 and ask them how many of the items they want or need can be purchased with that money. As well explain to them that once the money is gone that is all you will be giving them for the week so they must choose wisely. It is important that you do not go back on your word. At the end of the week if they still have that money give them a prize as an incentive to save.

STAR CHART

Get a board and a bunch of stickers. Every time your child does something like put their toys away or uses proper mannerisms (thank you, please, you’re welcome ) you would give them a star. At the end of each week you would give them the option of trading in the stars for a small prize or keeping them to earn a bigger prize further down the line with some additional dedication and focus

DEPRECIATION

Example of a lesson: Imagine your kid begs for a drum set. Instead of just buying it for them you should negotiate with them for a portion of their saved allowance to be added towards the purchase.

If the child decides to no longer want to play with their drum, after about 5 months of inactivity this is a perfect time to suggest them to sell it. You can suggest for them to list it online, in a local newspaper, have a garage sale or even try to sell it back to the store where it was purchased etc…

Two things will chances are occur:

First the child will learn that the drum no longer costs as much and second they will find it hard to find a person who wants to pay the original purchase price or even close to it.

Depreciation to me is a good motivator for your child to think twice about giving up on playing the drums. Especially when they realize it would mean they wasted a portion of their allowance.

ROGUE THOUGHT:

I believe it is easy for a person to waste money when it is not coming directly from their own pockets. That thought includes kids. Perfect time for your grade schooler or H. S. teen to receive a money chart to help them budget HINT HINT

BARTER SYSTEM

The barter system is a great way to exchange items you own for ones that you prefer and helps kids to not only think outside of the box about what they possess that can be of resale/trade value but builds entrepreneurship such as creating a niche or product that can be bartered.

Ironically as I started to write this I had someone voice the opinion that I was basically rewarding children for doing things they should do anyways and that they will have the unrealistic expectation that as adults they will be rewarded for every day things. That conversation was followed with one from a person who’s opinion I respect and they said something prolific.

Don’t we get punished if we do something bad? So why shouldn’t we reward ook for doing the right thing

NEEDLESS TO SAY WE WILL NOT ALL SEE EYE TO EYE. THIS IS JUST AN OPTION.

SIDEBAR: CAN YOU IMAGINE IF WE ALL CONTINUOUSLY ONLY RECEIVED LOVE, SUPPORT AND UPLIFTMENT FOR BEING GOOD CITIZENS WHAT WE COULD ACCOMPLISH OR THE POSITIVITY IT WOULD BRING.

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FALL CLEANING : Donating & the barter system with kids

kidswhobank — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 19:24:41 +0000

Illustrated by: Nick Edwards

It is that time of the year when we start pulling out the fall and winter clothes and putting away the summer clothes and trying to declutter while we are at it. If you like to travel then you leave a few staple summer clothes out. Most of us will do this with our kids duplicating our actions.

Why not turn this tradition into a lesson.

Kids grow so quickly that for someone like me with a toddler all of the items he had for the previous winter no longer fit him and it leaves me wondering why did I even save them. Granted certain items can be held on if you plan on having more kids but is it necessary to hold on to all of them? I THINK NOT

One mans junk is another mans treasure

When you add your kid(s) into the equation this turns into a perfect way of:

Decluttering your home of toys and clothes they no longer utilize
Teaching them a quick lesson in appreciation & depreciation
A minor step towards them becoming entrepreneurs
Stimulate their creativity

One of the ways you can do this is via the barter system. Now as a parent there are forums, websites and apps dedicated to other parents who want to exchange toys, clothes and other knickknacks for something of equal value.

You can do this as a joint effort. Tell your little ones to try on their old shoes, clothes, etc and whatever doesn’t fit them to put to one side neatly. Next step tell them all of the toys they no longer play with to do the same.

Not all items have to be bartered. Whatever you can’t find an exchange for you can choose to donate. I personally choose a local charity or a missionary.

Include your kid in the whole process of taking pictures of everything you will list and watchijg what they can get for their items.

Now if only I could barter away my socks with holes in them for fresh ones that would be splendid. Lol.

On that note, feel free to let me know if you’d like to share any pics of your kids having garage sales, lemonade stands or any other entrepreneurial stances they have displayed.

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FUTURE LEADER : Nature vs Nurture

kidswhobank — Thu, 01 Sep 2016 18:26:52 +0000

Illustrated by: Randy Cameron

It is safe to say we would all love to have children who are natural born leaders but is that something that can be truly taught or something which has to be within us from the beginning?

Scene:

I am at a museum and there are a group of kids age 8&9 accompanied by their parents/guardians. The curator asks the kids for 5 team leaders to head groups of 4 for that days scavenger hunt. Most of the parents are relaxed in the background letting their kids make their own decisions but this one little girl’s father jumps into the mix and tells her to go up and be a leader. She expresses that she is not interested but he gives her THE LOOK and she obeys. As team leader she would have to give good directions and make sure her team remained together while finding everything as a unit. Giving directions were not her strong suit, nor reading a map and the list continued. Needless to say all of the other teams collected all of the items and had a blast but her team did not and she looked miserable the whole time. To top it off her experience was proceeded by her dad stating he was disappointed that she lost.

I couldn’t help but feel as if it was all her father’s fault that her team lost. Maybe she knew her strengths and weaknesses hence her not wanting to be a team leader, better yet maybe she is better at taking directions than giving them.

Which leads me to wonder, are we all born with the leader gene maybe subdued and need to be coaxed out with some nurturing or is nature for us to come out leading a group of people or being a master follower.

EITHRE WAY I think it is important that we do not over impose and possibly stunt our child’s role in society. We must of course teach them the way and give them options but remember that being a follower or leader is a part of their own choice to make in life and in society. This could be the difference in being a mediocre leader or a horrible follower.

IF WE ARE ALL LEADERS WHO WILL FOLLOW?

feel free to leave your thoughts below…

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