Parenting Idea: Negotiated Allowances

I was watching a Ted talk recently by Cameron Herold who is a successful entrepreneur, father, and is a self-confessed failure in many things in life.  The whole point of this particular talk was that he thinks the current way children are taught in school and by their parents makes them more likely to just follow orders and stifle creativity.  Instead, he proposes a series of changes and parenting techniques that might allow someone to become a better parent, and foster their own child's particular set of skills.

One idea that came up in his talk was about encouraging subjects in which your child is already good at and has a desire to learn.  If your child has an A in math, but a C in Spanish, which topic would you help them and encourage them in?  Most parents would probably choose Spanish, however your child may be very gifted in Math, and so that subject needs to be explored and emphasized.  I would put the caveat that a certain amount of basic knowledge in every skill set is needed in order to pass each grade and milestone of life.

Teaching your children to think entrepreneurial can happen in many forms.  Take for example a child's allowance.  Instead of giving your child a wage each weak, why not make this a lesson?  Have them look for jobs and ways of being useful around the house, allow them to propose the job to the parent, and then negotiate with the parent for how much they will be paid.  This simple arrangement will teach opportunity finding skills, negotiating skills, and other basic business building skills.  It may end up even being cheaper for the parent :-)

Take a look at the video, and if you are not familiar with Ted.com, then check out some of the other interesting talks.  There is literally a plethora of knowledge on that site, and I can easily spend a few hours there just exploring the many varied topics.

Wonderful Moment of the Day: Happy President's Day!