Kids' Money Special.
My son is saving for a particular toy and needs another $90 so he'd have to do this seven Saturdays in a row to get there – even with pocket money or birthday gifts,it will take a while.
It will be interesting to see if he lasts the distance or decides to settle for a cheaper toy – it's like a real-life version of the marshmallow test. (You know,the one where children are given a marshmallow and told they can either eat the marshmallow or wait five minutes and get two. Apparently children who are able to delay gratification do better in life.)
If we were to do it again,I'd suggest making iced tea instead because tea bags are cheaper than lemons and you can offer a sweet or unsweetened option. And maybe taking an Esky up to the park and setting up outside the playground,if that's allowed.
There is a lot of angst about the types of jobs our children will be doing when they reach adulthood. Already many industries have been hollowed out and casualised and there are fears increased automation and robotics would make that worse.
The truth is no one knows what the future will bring,and anyone who claims they do is full of it.
We need to raise children to be creative and adaptable to prepare them for any possible future,rather than fixate on specific skills.
But I,for one,believe that entrepreneurial skills and economic literacy would stand anyone in good stead,accompanied by sound ethical values and reasoning skills.
So it's likely we'll do another lemonade,or ice tea,stand – or something that teaches similar principles. We'll hold garage sales or sell goods on eBay,and when they're older they can try babysitting,busking or dog walking.
Or maybe they'll be coding apps and trying to sell them on the App Store,or posting YouTube tutorials or skits,or making handmade clothes,or whatever the 2020s equivalent will be.
It doesn't matter. The point is to teach them to find business opportunities,how to manage the whole enterprise,not just to be an employee,and to have a growth rather than fixed mindset.
By that I mean teaching them that it's OK to fail and try again and that just because they can't do something straight away,it doesn't mean that they can't learn.
I know some parents are reluctant to encourage entrepreneurship because they don't want to teach their kids to be obsessed with money and status. I think they're missing a trick.
Just as social enterprises like Thankyou for bottled water or soap or Who Gives a Crap toilet paper are a trend in the business world,kids can combine entrepreneurship and doing good as well.
For years my friend's son has donated pocket money to World Vision. Last Christmas he wanted to donate $1450 to buy a well to provide clean drinking water for a community. He said he'd give up his pocket money for the next three years.
Instead my friend suggested he make something to fundraise towards the total – so he made bead necklaces and sold them for $10 a pop. A mutual friend gave me one for Christmas and it's gorgeous.
In fact,an ethical underpinning is important in any business endeavour – if you teach kids it's mutually exclusive,that's how you end up with corporate scandals of the kind my colleague Adele Ferguson writes about.
I don't want my kids to think it's OK to lie or cheat or cut corners or waste resources in any aspect of life. Even in our little lemonade stand,I made sure we used a measuring cup so everyone got the same amount,and we used real cups that we washed up in the kitchen rather than adding to plastic rubbish.
There are programs to help kids develop entrepreneurial skills in a structured way,such as Club Kidpreneur. But there's plenty that parents and children can do together at home,especially when they're still little.
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