In the summer of 2014 my husband and I both lost our jobs within just a few weeks of each other. We very quickly stopped all our spending and used our savings on only necessary bills. We worked at jobs we didn't necessarily like that didn't pay what we were use to in order to keep some sort of income coming in.
Stories like this are all too common, but one thing you usually hear about when these things happen to families is "Our kids didn't know how little money we had. We wanted to protect them." For my husband and I my kids DID know how little money we had! We wanted to protect them!
I hear adults admit that as a child they didn't really know how poor they were, but yet still found happiness in life. When I was a child I had an idea of how poor our family was, but yet still found happiness in life... and a much greater appreciation for everything I had/have.
When I worked as a manager I watched a new generation of employees step into the working class with a sense of entitlement. These kids wanted a pat on the back for doing a good job everytime they did a good job. My parents always taught me that you earned your paycheck by doing a good job and a pat on the back only came when you went above and beyond the job expected.
My goal is to teach my kids this same work ethic which isn't the easiest thing to do in the world we are living in right now. Sports programs give kids the same size trophy no matter how hard each of the kids played. Imagine if everyone got the same participation bonus at work even if some worked harder than others? "Good job for showing up to work today! Here is an extra $100!". Schools give kids awards for "almost" making it. Every year I watch Angel's award ceremony at school and one of the things she gets recognized for is "almost making perfect attendance". I don't hang those awards up on the fridge. (I do however frame her awards for getting As and Bs for the whole year!) How would you feel if you hired a lawyer whose office was full of plaques that said "I almost won that case!". I don't want my kids to think that "almost" is good enough or that simply showing up to something is worth the same as doing your best while you are there.
If you see us walking around the store you'll notice both my girls carrying a purse full of change. It's change that they've earned for times when I felt they went above and beyond the job expected for their age. When they spend the money in their purses they do it with pride and tend to take better care of the things they bought with the money they earned. My girls are only nine and four years old and already appreciate hard earned money. Imagine what kind of employees they will be one day.
It's not just about teaching kids to feel good about themselves, but teaching them to feel good about the things that they do.
Stories like this are all too common, but one thing you usually hear about when these things happen to families is "Our kids didn't know how little money we had. We wanted to protect them." For my husband and I my kids DID know how little money we had! We wanted to protect them!
I hear adults admit that as a child they didn't really know how poor they were, but yet still found happiness in life. When I was a child I had an idea of how poor our family was, but yet still found happiness in life... and a much greater appreciation for everything I had/have.
When I worked as a manager I watched a new generation of employees step into the working class with a sense of entitlement. These kids wanted a pat on the back for doing a good job everytime they did a good job. My parents always taught me that you earned your paycheck by doing a good job and a pat on the back only came when you went above and beyond the job expected.
My goal is to teach my kids this same work ethic which isn't the easiest thing to do in the world we are living in right now. Sports programs give kids the same size trophy no matter how hard each of the kids played. Imagine if everyone got the same participation bonus at work even if some worked harder than others? "Good job for showing up to work today! Here is an extra $100!". Schools give kids awards for "almost" making it. Every year I watch Angel's award ceremony at school and one of the things she gets recognized for is "almost making perfect attendance". I don't hang those awards up on the fridge. (I do however frame her awards for getting As and Bs for the whole year!) How would you feel if you hired a lawyer whose office was full of plaques that said "I almost won that case!". I don't want my kids to think that "almost" is good enough or that simply showing up to something is worth the same as doing your best while you are there.If you see us walking around the store you'll notice both my girls carrying a purse full of change. It's change that they've earned for times when I felt they went above and beyond the job expected for their age. When they spend the money in their purses they do it with pride and tend to take better care of the things they bought with the money they earned. My girls are only nine and four years old and already appreciate hard earned money. Imagine what kind of employees they will be one day.
It's not just about teaching kids to feel good about themselves, but teaching them to feel good about the things that they do.
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