What Would You Do?
I took a screenshot of this from twitter and I had some serious thoughts about it. I didn't think to grab the replies, but I didn't see any who thought the way I did. Here are my thoughts.
Do nothing
Really? Yeah. I saw people commenting about berating or hitting their kids to a positive social response. I think this is completely wrong for a number of reasons. The purpose of an allowance is to give your child the understanding of money and a degree of self-determination. If you punish your kid for not using that freedom in a way you don't like, then it isn't freedom.
I am not saying that there shouldn't some form of punishment for a child who does this either, but rather that the child's actions are the best punishment and I will explain why. The child has screwed himself out of money. He will learn from that mistake when he doesn't have the money he wants. The point of saving to afford what he wants will become apparent. Reprimanding him will only make him afraid of what you will do, and not actually learn why what he did was wrong. If he grows up staying in line because he is afraid of you, that will not help him later in life when you can't control him. If he learns for himself why his actions are wrong, fear of you isn't a factor.
