Turning 10 – It’s all about the money now….

Apparently Jessie J’s insightful lyrics do not apply to the average 10 year old. As my eldest child entered double-digits this weekend I saw first hand the power of cold, hard, cash.

To be fair he was still equally impressed with the wrapped booty – Lego and a huge tub of tangfastics - but suddenly money holds the real wow factor. Long gone is that look of vague confusion that someone has handed him a piece of coloured paper and appears to be getting a bit excited about it. Replaced instead with a steely grin and a request to get on the computer and look up Toys R Us to compare prices with Argos.

This was the first birthday I can recall where my son received a substantial sum of money, and by substantial I mean over a hundred pounds. This is the kind of cash windfall that makes me want to gather it up and put it in his savings account. He, of course, wants to take it all and spend it on Skylanders.

It’s a tough call. My children are not spoiled. There don’t get treats and toys every time we leave the house and subsequently when they’re given money they feel as though they should be allowed to run riot and spend the lot. There was a time when I was making regular payments into their bank accounts – not exactly enough to see them through college or university (nowhere near) but it was a start. In the last year I’ve had to make cuts to my budget which means these payments have stalled for now so I’m not exactly setting the best example.

Whilst mulling this over last night, the 10yo asked me to top up his mobile phone so he could call his dad. As I did so, he ran off, reappearing with two of his crisp new birthday notes so he could pay his own way. I was so touched by the gesture that I considered not accepting them at all, before splitting the difference and picking up half the cost. If he can display that level of maturity about his spending I’m not going to worry too much. I think he’ll be ok…
 

Tuesday, 28th February 2012

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