Was this reallya terrible thing to do? WWYD?

amother

Burgundy

Fri, Aug 21 2015, 3:24 pm

Chayalle wrote:

I hear. But a bottle of oil costs alot more than a tube of toothpaste, but a 5 year old probably lacks the awareness of relative cost of destruction. I don't know that I would charge them the full amount of the oil, if I was choosing this method. Maybe I would discount the price, without child being aware of it...if I wanted to make my point and teach the lesson.

My point was that he has to replace it (does a 5+ year old really know a bottle of oil costs $4.00 and not $2.00, no of course not), whatever monetary amount the parent sees fit. When I was a mischievous youngster I may or may not have paid the full price for the toothpaste either. I have even been known to replace the money in their banks if they go X amount if time on good behavior. Sometimes I use it to buy them a treat later, sometimes I use it to go towards a replacement item. I always explain what is happening, that they did something without reason/ knew better/ have been told many many many times to be careful/ to not do that.

For another example: I have a 10 year old who is always tipping backwards kitchen chairs. She has loosened 3 of them to the point of needing repair. She kept doing it countlessly. The chair she was sitting in broke while she was tipping it back. She is now responsible for repairing the chair and that chair is now hers to use. Why should others have to sit in a wobbly chair at dinner when she was the one who was responsible.

amother

Peach

Sun, Aug 23 2015, 3:06 am

Thank you all for your support and suggestions. (I hope there is no "next time" with this.) I have a bathroom with just a toilet and nothing else, so there wasn't much else to do. DS has no allowance; he doesn't really get how money works yet either. Around here, allowances, at least for young children, does not seem to be the norm. (I live in Israel.)