Kids might be simple people, but they ask the most complicated questions. The kind of questions that adults are too well trained to ask, or even think, most of the time. One of the worst?
“How much money do you make?”
Whether you make a lot of money, and you don’t want your kids inadvertently bragging about it, or you’ve recently been laid off and you don’t want to share your financial worries with your little ones, this can be a question that’s almost impossible to answer. But as the parent, it’s your job to answer the questions, even the ones you’d rather avoid. Thankfully, Ron Lieber has decided to tackle some of the trickiest queries in his “Bucks: Making the Most of Your Money” column in the New York Times this month – starting with this one.
Lieber suggests that your first response to any financial question your children might ask be: “What made you think of that?” Remember, your kids don’t really understand money yet, or salaries or the attendant baggage that grownups have built up arround them. They’re probably not looking for a number – the question is most likely rooted in some other fear that they have decided boils down to whether or not the family makes enough money or not. If you can figure out what the real concern behind the question is, then you address whatever it is your child is really wondering about. Whether it’s – are we running out of money? Or it’s – why don’t I have the new iPhone 4 like Suzy does?
If you’re dealing with an older child who persists in questioning your income, try turning the question into a lesson in budgeting. Rather than just tossing around a number, sit down with your kids and break down household expenses like mortgage payments, electricity and food costs. Then you can help your kids see how discretionary items fit into that list.
