Kids And Pocket Money

“More!” squealed Miss7. She’d just finished wiping down the cupboard doors and was clinging onto a dishcloth like Tom Hanks might clutch an Oscar. “Give me something else to do!”

This was a far cry from the Miss7 of only a day ago who when asked to do something was more chameleon than child. She’d meld into her background and disappear until everything was finished.

But not anymore.

So what’s caused this turnover in attitude towards chores?

“I want more moneeeeeeeey!” yelled Miss7.

That’s right, we’ve introduced a reward system for chores done in addition to the ones we expect them to do, like making beds. We’re not paying them much, mind, just 10c or 20c for putting away the dishes or putting a load of washing on. But, as Miss7 has worked out, those little coins can add up over a week.

I followed her into the bathroom to run through the routine of throwing dirty clothes into one of the machines, adding powder and pressing the right buttons to turn it on. During which she regaled us with her new catch cry.

“More money! More money! More money!”

“Me, too,” said Master9, strolling into the bathroom still clutching his iPod.

Some of our kids have taken to the new pocket money regime better than others. One of those others is Master9.

“You haven’t done anything,” I reminded him.

“We can’t all put the washing in the machine,” he said. Then a cheeky grin appeared – I could almost hear the cogs turning. “I know! I’m going to make sure she does the job properly. I’ll be managing her. That means I get paid more, right?”

Wrong.

Just like I was wrong to think the Coles brand washing powder Miss7 was using wasn’t every bit as good as the more expensive brands. At their request we’ve road tested four products this week from Coles. Here are the results:

Coles Ultra Concentrate Laundry Powder – Worked just like washing powder should, and at only $4 a box!

Coles Scotch Finger Biscuits – Enjoyed them with a cup of tea and they tasted just like Scotch finger biscuits are supposed to.

Coles Brand Vanilla – Made Coke spiders. Frothed up nicely.

Coles Brand Tuna Chunks In Spring Water – Was great on my sandwich with lettuce and mayo. Kids smelt them and are now demanding I make sushi later this week.

And isn’t that what you want from these alternative brands? That they taste or do the same thing?

It’s all too easy to get suckered into thinking by paying more you get a better product. I saw on an episode of QI how guys are especially prone to this. I know I absolutely am. I’ve been known to hum and actually sing jingles as I throw one expensive, well advertised product after another into my trolley. In fact, before being asked to trial some Coles Brand products I don’t know that I’ve ever considered buying blue.

Well, that’s just changed.

We’ve tried all four products now and the only discernible difference has been the price.  And the good thing about all this is, the money we pay the kids to put a load of washing on can come straight out of the money we save at the check out 🙂 Which considering we do anywhere up to fifteen loads a week is bound to be considerable – a point, I’m sure, which hasn’t been lost on Miss7.

So next time you see me pushing a trolley in Coles I’ll probably be singing Miss7’s new jingle, ‘More Money’.

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“Raising a family on little more than laughs”