Around our house we have duties that everyone has to do each week on rotation as a part of being in the family. Then there are the tasks like mowing the lawns which I can do for free, or the kids can do for money.
Of course the first question is “how much do I get paid?”
We are taught from an early age to value our time when we work. We are rewarded for the hours we put in, not the outcomes.
Which is weird, because as adults we know true success is not determined by how much we earn.
Success is defined by what we do.
What we learn.
What we create.
Invent.
Start.
Who we help.
Connect.
Love.
And how we shape the lives of people around us.
∴
I’m not sure I want my kids to grow up with a ‘wage’ mentality. I would rather they have a ‘change’ mentality.
Maybe those of us with kids should start paying them for the hours they aren’t on devices or watching TV.
We could pay them to read, or exercise, or learn new stuff they don’t teach at school.
We could start offering to pay our kids when they are writing, or creating, or making art.
Better yet, we could pay our kids for each invention they make, regardless of how successful. Or fund any social project, no matter how short-lived.
I’m sure there will be a downside to all of this, but it must be better than just paying them to mow the lawns