Although sometimes parents want to throw away electronics when their kids are either addicted to them or fighting over them we still cringe when a child breaks one of these very expensive "toys". As a parent learning Love and Logic® techniques, what do you do?
After class this week two sets of parents were chatting with me about just this issue. Each family's 4 year old had broken an iPad. Ouch! That's expensive! They were both a little puzzled as to what to do since their kids don't have money to pay for a new one.
Using concepts we talked about setting up some way for the children, no matter the age or ability to pay, to "earn" money to fix an iPad. They might have the kids dust once a day, earning $1 each day or $2 (or whatever the amount you want to set). Yes, it would take a LONG time to "earn" all that money. The parents can add other jobs as well as long as they are jobs that aren't the regular contributions the child is expected to do. For example, a 4-year-old might be setting the table for dinner each night as a regular contribution so they need to assign other jobs like: weeding the garden, sweeping the floor or organizing shoes.
What if your child is older? The rate at which they will be able to "earn" the money for a broken or lost electronic might be sooner since they might be able to do something like staining the back deck or washing all the windows, inside and out.
If we keep in mind that the point of this lesson with our kids isn't so much about money but that being responsible for our belongings is worth doing. As adults, we have to pay for things we lose or break. As kids, they should be learning this same lesson. We do need to make sure we give them lots of EMPATHY and not lecture them! I would use the Problem Solving Technique and turn the problem back over to them, offering them suggestions only if they want some.
After class this week two sets of parents were chatting with me about just this issue. Each family's 4 year old had broken an iPad. Ouch! That's expensive! They were both a little puzzled as to what to do since their kids don't have money to pay for a new one.
Using concepts we talked about setting up some way for the children, no matter the age or ability to pay, to "earn" money to fix an iPad. They might have the kids dust once a day, earning $1 each day or $2 (or whatever the amount you want to set). Yes, it would take a LONG time to "earn" all that money. The parents can add other jobs as well as long as they are jobs that aren't the regular contributions the child is expected to do. For example, a 4-year-old might be setting the table for dinner each night as a regular contribution so they need to assign other jobs like: weeding the garden, sweeping the floor or organizing shoes.
What if your child is older? The rate at which they will be able to "earn" the money for a broken or lost electronic might be sooner since they might be able to do something like staining the back deck or washing all the windows, inside and out.
If we keep in mind that the point of this lesson with our kids isn't so much about money but that being responsible for our belongings is worth doing. As adults, we have to pay for things we lose or break. As kids, they should be learning this same lesson. We do need to make sure we give them lots of EMPATHY and not lecture them! I would use the Problem Solving Technique and turn the problem back over to them, offering them suggestions only if they want some.