Keeping The Roots Stronger

By Alijo Sylvester

Once upon a time, there were two neighbours living next to each other. One was a retired teacher while the other an insurance agent, who had a lot of interest in technology. Both of them planted different plants in their garden. The retired teacher was giving a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give full attention to them, while the other neighbour interested in technology, had given a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well.
The retired teacher’s plants were simple but looked good just as the insurance agent’s plants were much fuller and greener. One day, at night, there was heavy rain and wind with minor storm. Next morning, both of the neighbours came out to inspect the damage to their gardens. The neighbour, who was an insurance agent saw that his plants came off from the roots and were totally destroyed, but that of the retired teacher were not damaged at all thus standing firm.
The insurance agent neighbour was surprised to see it and went to the retired teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I actually looked after my plants better than you did for yours, and even gave them more water. Still, my plants came off from the roots, while yours didn’t. How is that possible?”
The retired teacher smiled and said, “You gave your plants more attention and water, because of that they didn’t need to work themselves for it. You made it easy for them. While I gave mine just enough amount of water and let their roots search for more water beneath the soil. And, because of that, their roots went deeper and that made their position stronger. That is why my plants survived.”
This story is about parenting, where children are like plants. Today’s parents aim at providing each and every facility to their child. As such the child may not be aware about the financial difficulties which are faced by parents. If everything is given to them, they will not understand the expected hard work it takes to earn those things.
Teaching children the importance of hard work is something many parents are avoiding. Unfortunately, this is resulting in a generation of lazy individuals. Some parents find it hard to tell their children “No”, when they ask for something, but if you continually hand them whatever they desire, you will be bailing them out for years to come.
As soon as they can count, kids get in touch with the material world and learn about money. Have you taught your child the importance of money? Understanding the importance and management of money at an early age will prove beneficial for the future life of a child.
Money makes the world go round, but in teaching kids how to value money, they can receive the financial savvy that will define their financial success. And since money doesn’t grow on trees, you will also need to give them a run for theirs by teaching them the value of hard work. Knowing the basic concepts behind the clockwork of an important aspect of life will allow them to handle money responsibly and a positive attitude towards it.
Making children understand the importance of money is a key aspect of the responsibilities of parents and once children understand the importance of money, they can make wise decisions relating to money matters in their prospective life. Therefore, it is very critical to make children understand the importance of money at the right time. Such maturity amongst them relating to money matters will definitely help them achieve more in life.
Make children aware about how you manage the day-to-day expenses. It is necessary for them to know that from where money comes and goes. Make sure that your children understand that you do a lot of hard work to earn money for the family with which day-to-day expenses are taken care of. Also teach your children the need to do proper planning to manage day-to-day expenses. If you give pocket money to your children, ask them to keep a record of how they have spent it.
By teaching children right from the start that they can’t have everything they want, or they can’t have it right away but must wait, we teach resilience and perseverance. They will need these qualities in great supply if they are to succeed and thrive as adults.
One of the most important things we can do, as parents, is to instil the values of hard work into our children. This is a mind-set that will help them accomplish great things, and make them more independent and self-sufficient as they go throughout life.
So next time your child asks you for yet another material object, think about what personality trait you are fostering. Yes, give your children some things they desire so that they may experience joy and hope, but let them also know disappointments, that they may also learn strength, patience, and resilience. These are by far the better gifts to receive.