Little Things We Need to Teach Our Kids
Woman in the Middle | March 9, 2014A story just came to me by way of Youngest Daughter. It made me laugh and at the same time it made me shake my head in wonder and distress.
An organization Youngest belongs to just had a weeklong fundraising event. It included the collection of a whole lot of change, over $1000 worth. So one night this group of young people got together to sort and roll all that change. My girls know how to roll change because they have been doing it for a very long time. In our household, money is money, whether it comes in the form of a penny or a $100 dollar bill.
So the group was busy sorting, counting and rolling. Some of the young people had to be taught the mechanics of filling a money roller. You know, put your finger inside, ease the change in in small stacks so it doesn’t tilt, etc… Youngest was able to handle that, although she was really surprised that some of these kids were nearing their second decade of life without knowing how to roll change.
Then, one of the kids looked at another and said, “Hey, are you counting the pennies you are rolling?” All eyes turned towards the kid who said ”You are supposed to count?. I thought you just filled it until it was full and then closed it.” Everyone was tired and Youngest was more than a little miffed by this. “Really?” She said. “You didn’t notice it said 50 cents on the side?” Yeah, I don’t blame her.
So all the penny rolls had to be redone, because one person thought somehow, if you just filled a penny roller it automatically would be 50 cents. Oh boy! I asked my girls what these kids did with their change. They both said “Coin Star.” Hum…I look at coin star like a calculator. First, you learn how to do the math, then you use a calculator for convenience. First you learn to roll change, then you use Coin Star for convenience, if you don’t mind giving them ten cents of every dollar, of course.
Folks, teach your kids how to roll change. They are going to have to do it at some point and you don’t want them to look like an idiot. Besides, if you teach them that coins are worth going to the trouble of rolling, you are teaching them to value money. That is my parenting advice for the day.
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