Yesterday, I spent most of the morning seeking out community yard sales here in Ocala. I happened upon several sales being held by entire neighborhoods and on one street, I was fortunate enough to meet Avery. Avery is a little five year old girl who was running a lemonade stand for yard sale attendees. I am telling you this story because, while lemonade stands were very common sixty years ago when I was a girl, they are not so common these days.
Avery's mother had made a large pitcher of lemonade and Avery's father was supervising the sales. Avery, on the other hand, was dividing her time between being a charming salesperson, and running in the house to find out how much lemonade was selling for. When we became her first customers of the morning, her eyes just glistened. When we dropped two quarters into her hand, she said, "Dad, I have change!".
It is never too early to teach your child the value of work and the value of money. Earning money comes naturally for some children; but others must be taught, helped, and encouraged. I am confident that a portion of Avery's lemonade earnings will be put into the bank. Perhaps, she will be allowed to spend a portion of it on herself. I hope that her Mom and Dad will teach her that a portion of her earnings must pay for the lemonade supplies. And that some of her profit should be set aside for charity. I know all of this seems very complicated for a five year old and perhaps it is. However, waiting until a child is a teenager is much too late. Values and a strong work ethic develop over time with much effort and practice.
Remember that it's the little things that make up the big things later on. If you are to raise a responsible adult, you must begin teaching responsibility at a very early age. Who knew it could begin with some lemons and sugar? Actually, Avery's lemonade was Crystal Light but that doesn't really matter. What matters is that her parents took the time on a Saturday morning to make lemonade, make a sign, and supervise their child while she learned about product sales, customer service, and entrepreneurship. Way to go Mom and Dad!
I was a serious entrepreneur as a kid.
ReplyDeletesnow cones, mowing lawns, etc....I always has a stash of cash!
Recently my daughter and I have talked a lot about budgets and bills. I should mention here, my daughter is grown with a family of her own. We talked about ideas for her son's bank and other ideas she had heard about teaching children how to save. I mentioned my parents taught me to have envelopes; 1 for church, 1 for savings, 1 for fun. She was surprised that I had learned to budget money that way, just as she had and just as people like Suze Ormon and Dave Ramsey suggested. Some old ways are still really good ways!
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