A 6-Year-Old's Buyer's Remorse

With the excitement of earning money comes the consequences of spending it.

So far, the Responsibility Chart we started in our household to eliminate whining and teach my children better table manners is working. They aren’t perfect, but I don’t have to say, "Lips together chewing" at every meal. And to the chorus of “Mommy, I want that!” at every toy commercial during Saturday morning cartoons, I can simply say, “Save YOUR money.” The day after Thanksgiving we joined the masses at Arundel Mills Mall hoping to find a great deal in the aftermath of early morning Black Friday shoppers. Each child needed new pants and shoes, and the death of my espresso machine couldn’t have come at a better time. As we turned a corner, my oldest son’s eyes grew big as he spotted the Lego logo. “Can we go in?” “Of course, but we are …

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Gretchen Schock

9:36 am on Friday, December 9, 2011

Thanks for reading Jackie, and you are probably right. :)   more ›

Mom's Corner

Teaching Children About Responsibility

Mom Columnist Gretchen tracks her sons' responsibilities with a chart, hoping in the end it'll lead to a better appreciation of working hard.

There are many moments that I hope my children will recall as fond memories from childhood when they are adults — moments they don’t appreciate now, but might later say, "If it wasn't for my mom..." We are working on responsibilities in our house. Each member of the family has responsibilities in our household — including the children. I'm purposely not calling these "chores.” I'm not looking at this solely as an opportunity to have someone help me scrub the toilet or feed the dog, but hope to eliminate whining about homework and begging for a toy every time we walk into Target. Each week some responsibilities change, and some remain the same, like doing homework. Each completed responsibility earns my children a smiley face. At the end of…

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Gretchen Schock

8:41 am on Thursday, March 29, 2012

Sarah that is a very good point- a 14 year old not begin able to wait till they are 16 to get the reward. That makes perfect sense. And how fantastic that you found a reward that is free!   more ›