Hundreds of people have thrown their hands to their heads in outrage and many others have praised and applauded the method that a Tiktoker mother uses so that her 7-year-old son learns to be responsible with money and appreciate its value: charging him the rent of the house, the light and the internet.
In order for the little one to meet the expenses, she has assigned him a list of daily tasks that she must complete to earn her remuneration. "If she completes everything on her to-do list, she gets a dollar a day," she explained to her nearly 75,000 followers.
It was the mother herself, who lives in Orlando (Florida) and calls herself @craftedandcozy on her social profile, who shared all the information on the networks with the intention of proposing a "paternity trick" that could be of interest to others. users. Its publication unleashed in a very short time a whole wave of reactions and criticisms for and against.
Among the tasks assigned to her son include brushing his teeth, tidying his room, cleaning the bathroom and picking up dirty clothes: "It's something I started doing at home two months ago and it has been successful for me," said the woman in the video that went viral and has 2.7 million views.
"At the end of the month he knows he has to pay the bills, and he knows he has to pay me. He pays the rent on the house, the electricity in his room and the internet he spends on his iPad," she says.
The Tiktoker mother also explains that the rent is priced at five dollars for the use of electricity (4.31 euros), two dollars (1.72 euros) for Wi-Fi and 2 more dollars if she does not pay her bills on time.
So that he learns to manage his salary, the under seven-year-old has two buckets to keep the money: one will be reserved for "having fun" and the other is for "paying bills." "It is her responsibility to decide what to do with her money and where to put it at the end of the month," says her mother.
The young woman also affirms that the money that her little one gives her, she does not spend or use on anything personal, but that she is saving it in a savings account for her son.
"I am very happy with the results. I hope it helps you too," she adds.
Although this method of education is unnecessary and abusive for many detractors, some users say that in the future this child will be able to make responsible decisions with more awareness and at an earlier age.
Among the more than 10,000 comments that the video has already accumulated, those who are against it are of the opinion that "it is more convenient to wait until I am a teenager", or that "it would be better to worry about the bills when I am older" and "let the children be children”.
On the other side of the scale are those who approve of the approach because "it teaches them the value of money and hard work," calling the idea brilliant and ingenious. For these reasons, among the opinions there are also those who are sympathetic to the approach “although it may not work for everyone because it will also depend on the child”.
Traditionally, there are many parents who have considered it appropriate to assign a pay to their children (Sunday pay), according to their way of educating and also the economic possibilities of each family. Most experts approve of children receiving a weekly or monthly amount of money for their expenses. However, in the same way, a high percentage thinks that paying for the performance of domestic tasks is a mistake, since "at home everyone has to collaborate and help just because, without the incentive of a prize", he explains to NIUS Christina Miller, psychologist and elementary school teacher in Miami. “If money is given in exchange for doing chores, the child may end up thinking that all her efforts deserve an immediate reward. And life doesn't work like that."
In the same way, Miller does not recommend remuneration in exchange for good grades because "a child or adolescent has to understand that her studies are for him, for her future, and not to satisfy the parents or get money. extra".
Regarding the age at which to start educating children in financial or economic terms, “I think that before 8 or 10 years old it does not make much sense because they are not old enough to understand what money is and how it works. . Children must add and subtract correctly to be able to handle money, although it will also depend on the ability of the child, ”argues Miller.
Melissa Hotzoglou, leader of the Chase community banking group, does not agree. She thinks that since children begin to speak, they can learn the value of money and during their growth put into practice some strategies that in adulthood will help them to have a healthy economy.
Ella hotzoglou even claims that she started having conversations with her children about the economy when they were four and five years old, although she points out the importance of understanding that “all children are different”.