see, in my childhood this was my grandfathers view on it as well... even later in life he likes to joke about how i saved an entire summer, as well as doing odd jobs for neighbors/relatives when i could, to buy a game system (original NES) i wanted. where he insists that had i not insisted on an allowance he would have just bought me the things i wanted for doing well.johnny99 wrote:It is the kids duty to do chores. Just like it is the parents duty to care for the kids. If you want to give the kid some money that is fine but an allowance no. If the kid wants something buy it for them or intermittently give out some money and say you do good around the house. I have never heard of Khmers giving allowances.
johnny
a) i don't think he would have, either he'd have decided it was a "waste of money" or i'd have been to afraid of that judgement to ask for it... once it was MY money i could spend it as i like without having to get approval on the purchase.
b) i think i valued it more as "mine" because i felt i'd earned that money i used to get it.
i agree that doing chores is a duty, and i'm not surprised about khmers not normally doing it. i think many of them feel that keeping the kid fed is the payment enough, and in a lot of cases they're right. i also feel that understanding the value of spending money you "earned" in some way is important. and like LIT said, the kid is really going above and beyond with initiative doing chores he's not even asked or expected to do (i get my bike pretty damn messy).
i was also have been considering encouraging him to start a moto/car wash "business" on our street in the mornings. along the lines of mowing lawns/etc. every morning i see some of our neighbors come out and was their motos and SUVs... i figure if he charged $1 or 2 each and came and did it for them he might drum up some business and it would be good experience, working for money. just so long as his school work doesn't suffer because of it. figured it could be a good chance for him to learn a lot of things, including how to deal with investors and obligations as the initial bucket/sponge/soap/etc i would have to buy for him... as a loan he'd be expected to pay back according to a payment schedule. it's small money, but the principles still work out.
we're talking a couple of bucks a week... not a salary.gavinmac wrote:In the Western world though, kids stop getting allowances when they get jobs or go off to college or find a way to support themselves.
You start giving a 17 year old Cambodian kid an allowance and it may never stop. He would have no incentive to get a job or move out if he's getting paid just to do household chores.
hey-you wrote:Definitly a good idea. Start off by giving $1 every day then as he learns to manage the money raise it and pay it every week. On the start of the new year, buy him a 2013 diary and make [ show him ] write every thing he gets and spends in the diary. If it's not written in the diary, deduct it from the next payment. Later in life when he runs a business he will apreaciate what he has learnt from you.
this is definitely a great idea.cambod wrote:Give him an allowance, and make him track it. Definitely a good idea.
You could also come up with fancy incentives for him, and could also help him open a savings account with a small deposit. Will be nice for him to see free money coming in from the interest (I'm aware the rates are not the best they've ever been).
and thanks again to everyone for the input/opinions/etc. new territory for me taking care of a kid... especially one that's half grown.