08.05.08
Posted in Kid's Responsibilities at 12:06 pm by CreditMom
My 3 kids came home from summer sleepaway camp on Friday along with their 9 loads of laundry. My 14 year old’s first statement was, “Mom, how are you going to do all this laundry?” Without missing a beat I said, “I’m not, YOU are!” That pretty much put an end to our blissful 4 weeks of relaxation while the kids were in summer camp.
After a month of a clean house, peace and harmony and dining out, my husband and I were quickly snapped back into reality with that one comment. The twins, while in sleepaway camp, hadn’t slept in the same room in a month so they were already at each other’s throats and my 14 year old immediately became surgically attached to his Mac notebook.
We gave them the weekend to come down from their summer camp high and then we snapped them back into reality with a family meeting last night. So here is the non-negotiable deal we presented to them.
Chores: Pretty simple: do your designated chores without prompting or you don’t get allowance. If you don’t get allowance, then on the weekend, when you want to see that movie, there won’t be any money to see it. Oh and by the way, children’s chores do not consist of making beds and wiping down the toilet after use…those fall under responsibilities below.
Responsibilities: Also pretty simple: responsibilities come first, privileges come as a result of responsibilities. You didn’t clean up the kitchen, bathroom or family room? Well, there’s no TV, no computer, no playing outside and certainly no video games until that’s done. If you don’t bring your wallet with you, there are no purchases and the response to “but Mom I’ll pay you back when I get home” is “NO.”
Conservation: Leave the lights on or the water running and it’s 50c each offense. It’s not a bottomless pit and our kids need to understand this.
As I re-read this post it seems pretty logical to me. Now to enforce it. Why can’t it ever be as easy at it sounds???
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07.24.08
Posted in Kids and Money at 10:51 pm by CreditMom
My kids go to a midweek sleepaway camp. They get on the bus Monday morning and come home Friday night. My 14 year old has been going for 4 years and this year for the first time we sent the 10 year old twins. We decided to send the twins for only two weeks because we were a bit nervous how one of them would adjust — plus it just costs so much money!
Well, by the 2nd day the twins called home (they’re allowed daily phone calls…a curse and a blessing at the same time) and asked that we extend their stay for another 2 week session. Now remember, everything we do is double…well actually triple if you count our 14 year old. But the 14 year old was staying 5 weeks so how could we say no to 4 weeks for the twins? I mean isn’t that saying we love the 14 year old more than the twins? (At least, that’s the typical guilt trip they give us).
So my husband and I discussed it and decided to give in and extend camp another 2 weeks. Now I would love to say we did this out of our undying love for our children and enormous generosity but that would be a complete lie. We did it because it’s so darn peaceful in our house and we’ve gained back our FREEDOM! We’ve been going to the beach, dining out and just doing whatever we want when we want….imagine that concept?
During the weekend he was home, my 14 year old said, “I can’t believe you’re sending the twins another 2 weeks. How much is that costing?” So when I gave him the figure, he stared in disbelief and said, “How do you guys even make enough money for that? How do you pay for it?” At first I was taken aback but then I realized this was a good thing. After all these years he was finally developing some financial awareness.
I told him we start paying for next year’s camp the week camp ends this year. So in August 08, we will begin paying for Summer 09 and we’ll get a discount by signing up early. We pay the camp fees monthly throughout the year, just like any other expense and when one of us has extra cash we send an extra payment, just so we don’t have to go into credit card debt. It’s all a matter of budgeting and priorities.
I hope some financial awareness is beginning to settle in and they appreciate this privilege. But judging from my conversation tonight, I think the only awareness the twins have is self awareness. In fact, when asked why he didn’t call home last night one of them said, “Because I had nothing to say to you and I was surrounded by girls.” Oh my…what should we expect when they all come home????
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07.10.08
Posted in Kids and Money at 10:00 pm by CreditMom
Gone are the days when summer camp was a luxury. In my mind, it’s now a necessity. Why? With so many dual income/working homes there aren’t that many options to keep your child busy and out of trouble over the summer, especially when a parent isn’t there to supervise.
It will cost thousands of dollars over the next 8 weeks to keep my three children socialized, exercised, safe and away from the computers and video games. WOW!!!!! So how much money does it take to send your kid to camp? Since we live in a major metropolitan area on the east coast the fees are exorbitant. The average summer day camp is between $300 and $600 a week. The average summer sleepaway camp is between $700 to $1000 per week. The more specialized the camp (i.e. baseball, music, computer science) the higher the fee.
Why do we choose to spend so much money? Well, we really don’t have that much of a choice since my husband and I both work full time. Sure we could probably hire a nanny to watch our 3 children for less money but unless she can come up with 2 months of stimulating FREE activities that cater to each of their age groups, it wouldn’t be much of a savings option.
So for 8 weeks our little bundles of mischief and joy get to romp and play in the outdoors, swim, eat tons of ice cream, socialize and make those lovely rope bracelets they insist you wear “all for free” (as my kids say) just so we have peace of mind they are off the streets and challenged by something other than electronic equipment.
When you look at the weekly cost, it’s pretty hard to justify but do we have a choice? Schools aren’t in session 12 months a year and both of us need to work. The best thing for us is we know our kids are safe and supervised. The best thing for them is they are stimulated, well rounded and building life long friendships and memories….so isn’t that worth it?
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