How to Raise Your Children
an Important essay by dholokhov
They say its important to teach your children the value of money through hard work. Nothing could be farther from the truth. First of all, no one ever got anywhere through the sweat of their brow. Go read what John Ralston Saul had to say about HARD WORK (I was going to type it out here, but that would be, yes, hard work, and as I write this, its a frickin civic holiday). Secondly and more importantly, people slaving away and setting aside a little each paycheque to pay for the things they want and need has absolutely nothing to do with the Way the World Works. You want to know how its really going down today? I have one word for you.
That word is: credit.
You love your boy/girl, right? You want to see him or her get ahead, dont you? Start early or see them be left behind or damaged forever. And you know whose fault that will be.
Why not give your child a line of credit, along with the generous allowance you provide them each week? A little something to let them get those little extras or deal with the unforeseen circumstances that are bound to come their way despite your best efforts. Creating a creditor/debtor bond between the two of you can only bring you closer together. Why, think about how much your bank loves you.
I aint gonna tell you how much of a credit limit you should set. I wouldnt presume in that kind of manner. Nor am I going to talk about what an acceptable rate of weekly interest would be, although I should point out that there are legal limits on that kind of thing (here in Canada, total yearly interest payments on a loan may not exceed 60% of the principal). You should raise their credit limit whenever your child asks nicely/throws a tempertantrum. You want to teach them about the real world, after all?
Let your child buy whatever he wants with his/her new source of capital. Its about freedom. Toys, books, candy, outings, whatev. As long as their allowance, along with whatever savings or other sources of income (lemonade stands, schoolyard extortion) they have can cover the weekly vig, everyone should be happy and you can be proud of the responsible citizen you are raising. Did I say vig? I meant reasonably calculated post-consumer market add-on charges.
Now I know we dont like to talk about it, but yes there are times when a line of credit gets out of hand. Sad to say, some children sometimes get themselves into situations where they cant meet their routine obligations. Just like in adult life, there is only one thing to do. Seize the assets that your child has acquired through his line of credit, and auction them off to the other neighborhood children. Any excess should of course be returned to your kid. But if the total raised is not enough to pay their debt, take the stuff that they didnt buy using their line of credit, or that they got as gifts. Pets? Sorry Timmy, I know how much you love Radar, but maybe you should have thought of that when you were buying all those Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
[Now, some people think its adorable to let their children form an arms length corporation and let it make auction bids under the direction of a trustee. Call me old fashioned, but I dont think that really represents the values we are trying to instill here.]
If even those avenues cant yield the amount owed, its time to get garnishment orders for their allowance and from future gifts from relatives. Its tough. But its also love.
Im getting a little misty as I write this. I mean, when I think of the kids Im helping, the child and parent/debtor and creditor bonds Im strengthening, I really feel like Ive done some good here. If only someone had taken me in hand like this when I was in my formative years, think of the man I could be today. When the time comes, I am going to be such a good parent
an Important essay by dholokhov
They say its important to teach your children the value of money through hard work. Nothing could be farther from the truth. First of all, no one ever got anywhere through the sweat of their brow. Go read what John Ralston Saul had to say about HARD WORK (I was going to type it out here, but that would be, yes, hard work, and as I write this, its a frickin civic holiday). Secondly and more importantly, people slaving away and setting aside a little each paycheque to pay for the things they want and need has absolutely nothing to do with the Way the World Works. You want to know how its really going down today? I have one word for you.
That word is: credit.
You love your boy/girl, right? You want to see him or her get ahead, dont you? Start early or see them be left behind or damaged forever. And you know whose fault that will be.
Why not give your child a line of credit, along with the generous allowance you provide them each week? A little something to let them get those little extras or deal with the unforeseen circumstances that are bound to come their way despite your best efforts. Creating a creditor/debtor bond between the two of you can only bring you closer together. Why, think about how much your bank loves you.
I aint gonna tell you how much of a credit limit you should set. I wouldnt presume in that kind of manner. Nor am I going to talk about what an acceptable rate of weekly interest would be, although I should point out that there are legal limits on that kind of thing (here in Canada, total yearly interest payments on a loan may not exceed 60% of the principal). You should raise their credit limit whenever your child asks nicely/throws a tempertantrum. You want to teach them about the real world, after all?
Let your child buy whatever he wants with his/her new source of capital. Its about freedom. Toys, books, candy, outings, whatev. As long as their allowance, along with whatever savings or other sources of income (lemonade stands, schoolyard extortion) they have can cover the weekly vig, everyone should be happy and you can be proud of the responsible citizen you are raising. Did I say vig? I meant reasonably calculated post-consumer market add-on charges.
Now I know we dont like to talk about it, but yes there are times when a line of credit gets out of hand. Sad to say, some children sometimes get themselves into situations where they cant meet their routine obligations. Just like in adult life, there is only one thing to do. Seize the assets that your child has acquired through his line of credit, and auction them off to the other neighborhood children. Any excess should of course be returned to your kid. But if the total raised is not enough to pay their debt, take the stuff that they didnt buy using their line of credit, or that they got as gifts. Pets? Sorry Timmy, I know how much you love Radar, but maybe you should have thought of that when you were buying all those Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
[Now, some people think its adorable to let their children form an arms length corporation and let it make auction bids under the direction of a trustee. Call me old fashioned, but I dont think that really represents the values we are trying to instill here.]
If even those avenues cant yield the amount owed, its time to get garnishment orders for their allowance and from future gifts from relatives. Its tough. But its also love.
Im getting a little misty as I write this. I mean, when I think of the kids Im helping, the child and parent/debtor and creditor bonds Im strengthening, I really feel like Ive done some good here. If only someone had taken me in hand like this when I was in my formative years, think of the man I could be today. When the time comes, I am going to be such a good parent
VIEW 8 of 8 COMMENTS
as for bunnies they ban them cause they breed like, well rabbits!! And run wild through QLD its an epidemic