Operation Perfect Children - Mid Year Progress Report By Trish S

Operation Perfect Children - Mid Year Progress Report

Part 2 of With kids, as with everything, you get what you pay for

By Trish Smith.

The kids both now have approximately $60 in their bank accounts.  Actually, Maddie has $60 and Caitlin has $57.  Caitlin has been obsessed with the balance of her account and how it compares with Maddie's.  They were neck and neck for a few weeks there (Caitlin only agreeing to spend some money if Maddie did so first - she never wanted to have less than her big sister) and then last week, just as she was about to climb into the bath, we had A Melt Down.  This was not your average, run of the mill, garden variety meltdown.

This was a Three Dollar Debit Meltdown.

I can't recall what started her off.  But Caitlin is having Anger Management issues right now and seems to go from 'mildly annoyed' to 'Jack Nicholson spewing cherries in The Witches Of Eastwick' in the space of about five seconds.  There is a sliding door at the end of the corridor that leads to her bedroom, and the door is closed during winter to try to keep some of the heat in.  In her fit of rage she ran straight at the door, slamming into it with outstretched arms, perhaps believing that if she put the full weight of her little body behind it she could shove it out of the way. 

The door broke - but not before Caitlin had slammed it close behind her. And suddenly she realised how cold it is at that end of the house, particularly when you're six years old without an ounce of fat or a stitch of clothing on your body.  The door would not open, she couldn't get back to where it was warm.  And she was far too angry at the world to contemplate putting her pyjamas on. 

I could see her through the crack in the doorway, her face turning red as the rest of her body turned blue.  I explained to her that she would need to get away from the door so that I could try to open it for her, but that seemed to make her angrier.  Just as Caitlin started to sound a little worried - she was cold, hungry and tired, after all - I managed to get the door to slide open.  Oh, the relief.  She ran, as fast as she could, into the lounge and onto the carpet in front of the heater. 

The episode didn't quite end there, it went on for another half an hour or so, but I had a large glass of Cab Sav when she had gone to sleep and that erased all memory of it.

The next morning I explained to her that this was going to cost her some pocket money.  After an initial protest, she seemed to accept her fate.  She was most upset that her balance would drop below Maddie's.  Go figure.  In the week since, she has been really good.  I have also tried harder to catch a developing Melt Down before it takes hold, and as always she responds well to lots of attention.  Nothing scares me more than the thought of Caitlin having these temper-tantrums as a teenager, so I see these years as being fairly crucial as far as developing good behavioural habits.  If she develops good saving habits along the way, then I can look forward to feeling a little smug in my later years.

All in all, I highly recommend the Family Passbook Accounts.  Both the kids have enjoyed having their own money to spend on whatever they want, and it has totally solved Caitlin's obsession with coins and notes and purses and piggy-banks.  I'm impressed by how well they have hung onto their money, because at that age I was trotting off to the local shops to buy bags of lollies any chance I got.  Maddie is saving up for an iPod (I've told her if she can save $100 by her next birthday - in March - I'll put in the rest) and Caitlin wants a Barbie computer, whatever that is. 

If they keep this up, they'll both be able to buy their own cars when they're 17 and the money we have been putting aside for that purpose will instead be put to good use at Bloomingdale's..

The information on this webpage is provided by the advertisers listed on this site. Canberra Kids takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the advertiser and do not necessarily reflect those of Canberra Kids.

For more information please see our privacy policy and disclaimer.