Money Math: Using Money to Sneak in Math Practice at Home

It can be hard to motivate your child to put in extra work, whether helping around the house or practicing to keep their math skills sharp over summer break.  I know for me personally as a parent, one of my biggest weaknesses is doing everything myself so that 1.) I don’t have to argue with my child to do it, and 2.) it gets done right.  But we all know that doing everything for our kids really only handicaps them and overwhelms us.  There is an obvious solution that will not only help you raise a more responsible, capable child, but also sneak in repeated practice of those basic math operations to help them keep them on their toes.  MONEY! 

Yes people, I am talking about a good old fashioned allowance where your child has a list of responsibilities and/or chores that they must complete efficiently each week in exchange for a set amount of money.  We’ve outlined a plan for you to give you some ideas and also to help you get started.  

STEP 01

First and foremost: Quit giving them money and buying them things they want for nothing!  In the beginning, if you want to start them off with a balance to get them going and cover any upcoming expenses you know they have, that's ok.  Explain to them that you are going to give them $X out of the goodness of your heart, but that from here on out they will be earning money to cover their purchases.

STEP 02

Decide what type of money you are going to give them.  

• Real Money:  Giving your child actual bills and coins has many advantages, but also is going to require a little more work on your part if you are anything like the majority of adults today and do not carry around a significant amount of cash.  If you go this route, I highly suggest that you withdraw a variety of cash and coins and use it to create your own little “bank” at home for your child to do business with. While this option does require more effort on your part, the payoff is huge as you watch your child learn and become more confident in counting money and making change.  They will also become more responsible as they will be required to organize their money in some way as well as keep up with it and hopefully not lose it.
• Virtual Money:  In our world of debit cards, virtual wallets, and money exchanging apps, this option offers your child the chance to begin learning how they will manage their money in the near future when they get their first job and on into adulthood. The sky's the limit for options on how you deliver your money to your child and how they track and manage it.  It can literally be as simple as writing down a beginning balance in a notebook and having your child add and subtract from their balance when you give them allowance and when they spend their money.  There are also TONS of apps offered through banks and companies that are designed to help families manage household chores and allowance for one or multiple children.  If you want to dive into those options, check out Best Allowance and Chore APPs for Kids by Forbes.

STEP 03

Make a list of responsibilities and chores along with corresponding money amounts that can be earned for each. Once you finish the list, post a copy of it in a place where your child will see it often as a reminder.  I think it's important to teach your child the difference between responsibilities and chores.  Responsibilities pertain to one’s own belongings and needs such as cleaning your own room, feeding your own pet and doing your own laundry.  While at first it is acceptable to bribe your child to do these things with money (for the sake of math and your sanity), as they become older and more responsible these should gradually be taken off of the list of things your child earns an allowance for. Chores on the other hand refer to tasks done for the benefit of the family or community such as taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, doing the dishes, washing towels, etc.  

STEP 04

Dedicate a time each week to review your child’s progress and issue allowance.  Whenever establishing a new routine or habit, probably the most important factor that determines success or failure is consistency.  Time is fleeting for us busy working parents and I know you know I’m right when I say that if you don’t schedule it in your calendar, it won’t get done consistently.  

STEP 05

Commit to the MATH :) Remember that this process has the potential to deliver some much needed repeated practice on those basic math skills in addition to all the other previously mentioned benefits…if you commit to the math!  This means that when you issue allowance or when your child comes to you and wants to buy a new app for their phone, bucks or coins on a video game, make them do the math adding and subtracting the amounts from their account balance on paper first.  If they are wanting to make a large purchase and need to save their allowance, have them use division to see how many weeks they will need to save before reaching their goal.  Likewise, they can use multiplication to analyze how much money they can save if they save a certain amount of their allowance for X amount of weeks.  There are endless ways to have them practice and apply the math skills they learn in school to managing their money.  

It's never too early to start teaching your child about managing money and in case you missed the memo….schools don’t exactly do that.  It will take some time and planning on your part in the beginning, but once you get going you will not only see things getting done around the house but you can also give yourself a gold star for being a parent that teaches your kid about money and preparing them for life in the future while also reinforcing math skills they are currently learning in school. High five parents!