Introduction 1- Family Legal System 2- Family Economy 3- Family Traditions Back to Happy Family Into

An Inclusive “Family Economy” continued...

The system described here works best when it is started with 7-12 year olds, and we think 8 is the ideal beginning age. (In fact, we suggest that if you have kids under 8, you inaugurate it with them starting on their eighth birthday.) Having said that, the “economy” works well with kids up to at least 15, though your methods of explaining and implementing it may have to be adjusted for teens.

The basic thesis of the idea is that if kids are given a legitimate and fair way to earn money, they will develop initiative and motivation because they perceive ownership. If they have a chance to budget and spend that money they will learn discernment and discipline. If they save and invest their money they will understand delayed gratification. And in the process, both their gratitude and generosity will have a climate in which to grow.

The basic process of the idea is to take the money you are already spending on your kids and re-route it through their ownership and choices, and to make the whole process part of a natural economy where parts of the money that comes into a household goes out to those who do parts of the common work of the household.

The basic premise of the idea is that it is better to have children learning the lessons of earning and spending and saving (and making mistakes in all three) while they are young and the stakes are small than when they are older and the stakes are large (and when banks start sending them pre approved credit cards.)

The basic props of the idea are a family bank (a big wooden box, maybe painted silver or gold, with a big padlock on it and a slot in the top), a checkbook for each participating child (a real checkbook with the child’s name imprinted and with a check register—get them from a bank—open an account and close it if you have to), and a basic peg board with four pegs for each child (the bigger the better, and the pegs better be tied or chained on, or they will get lost.)

Keep in mind now, as we discuss the details of implementation, that the system is not just about money; it is about responsibility and initiative and self-motivation--and money is the vehicle or the raw material that is used in the process.