“Mom, can I have five bucks?” These words will be heard by all parents at some point. Every parent must decide—and fairly early on—how to answer and handle being a walking, breathing ATM. Children need to be taught the value of work and the value of money. It is important children learn not only by seeing but also by doing.

Teach by modeling

The first step in this all-important process is to teach by doing. Instill at a young age your own strong work ethic, both professionally and at home. Encourage your kids to pitch in around the house. A strong work ethic is contagious and if you are able to instill this concept now, by the time money comes into the picture, the work part has already been taught.

Work is for fun

Before your kids understand the value of professional work, they see your work around the house. Just by seeing you work, your kids will begin to understand that part of life is working and that you enjoy doing it. By demonstrating that work is fun with intrinsic value, later on it won’t become all about the money.

Work is for money, too

Kids often don’t understand why mom and dad leave the house everyday. Only when they are older do they understand their parents leave to go to work and work is how they are able to buy food and clothes for the family. If you have built up a work ethic in your children, the lesson only gets stronger once you add in allowance. Doling out allowance can lead to real conversations with your kids about the costs of things in life.

Bribery not allowed

In teaching the real value of money, do not use money as a way to encourage and enhance the work or work ethic of your children. For instance, “If you get all your chores done by 7 p.m., we’ll all go get ice cream.” That teaches that only the end result matters. By doing this, you have enhanced the money in the equation and diminished the work ethic. However, using money to reward quality work and strong work ethic can help instill the right lessons about work.

Encourage part-time work

If the last four steps have taught the value of hard work and what money is used for, a part-time job is the logical final step. There are different jobs that make sense to both encourage work ethic and help them earn their own money. This likely will be a stressful time for the both of you, but a part-time job also teaches time management. The first job is going to be rough as your kids learn about “real” hard work; however, this job will go far in improving their self-esteem and self-worth.

Teaching your kids the value of work will not only reduce their dependence on you as their personal ATM, but it will also increase and encourage their respect for hard work— a lesson for life.

Brought to you by The Guardian Network © 2018, 2022. The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America®, New York, NY

2022-138139 Exp. 5/24