Money wasters: financial penalties might prompt children to think

Surging living costs are prompting parents to have some tough talks about household wastage, but do fines take it too far?

The price of everything is rising sharply and children are often among households’ biggest consumers.

From leaving lights and appliances turned on unnecessarily to taking ridiculously long showers, these actions are costing parents more than before, so is now the time to consider fining or punishing kids for wasting resources and money?

Money specialists say children should be included in household financial discussions so they appreciate the value of money and how small actions affect family finances.

Now is a perfect time to do this as electricity bills surge for the first time in years, fuel and grocery prices climb sharply and households have less disposable income because of rising home loan interest rates.

Beyond Bank’s national operations manager, Sophie Scott-Young, says it’s okay to consider fines or other penalties “as long as they are clear on the rules from the start and why you are doing it”.

KEY CHOICES

“Teaching kids early and helping them understand that energy and water actually cost money and that wasting them is costly to both the household and the environment might help them appreciate your nagging,” she says.

“Work with them to roughly calculate how much it costs for a heater to run in a room per hour.

“If they leave it on for the day, deduct this amount from their pocket money. That is guaranteed to make them think before they waste precious and expensive resources.”

Elyse Edmonds with husband Josh and daughters Aria, 8, and Estelle 6. Picture Matt Turner.

Scott-Young says make saving worthwhile and as fun as possible. Parents can incentivise children by putting money saved towards something they want, such as a holiday, she says.

Money coach Karen Eley says rather than direct fines or penalties, children can be given the choice of paying for their household wastage or changing their habits.

“It’s important to give your children autonomy – it helps their decision-making skills,” she says.

Age-appropriate conversations are important, Eley says, so don’t go too hard on a five year old, while a teenager is more likely to understand concepts of costs, spending and inflation.

“Kids make mistakes and are sometimes forgetful, so we don’t want to shame them … we don’t want to scare children into a scarcity mindset around money and resources,” she says.

Start healthy habits as early as possible, such as switching lights off when leaving a room or keeping leftovers rather than throwing them out, Eley says.

“My 12-year-old would stay in the shower for an hour if I let him,” she says.

“Only last week we brought a 10-minute timer into the bathroom after explaining that energy costs have risen so the hot water costs have gone up, which means long showers cost more.

“I explained you can continue to have longer showers if that’s how you want to spend your money. However, it just means I may dock your pocket money $2 per week.

“He is now having 10-minute showers.”

TECH HELP

Elyse Edmonds and husband Josh have a blended family with four children aged between six and 10, and use technology to their advantage.

“We have invested in smart lights that we can program them to be turned on and off with controls from our phone,” she says.

Beyond Bank’s Sophie Scott-Young says be clear on rules from the start. Photo: Tom Huntley

“Given our children live in a device era, this makes them more engaged in making sure things turned off or programmed correctly.

“In terms of water, we have a shower timer so they aren’t spending excessive amounts of time showering. If we’re not on top of it, all the lights in the house would be on and the TV would be running all day!”

Edmonds says her household prefers to have expectations rather than “traditional rules”, and she finds that reducing screen time or gaming time can be an effective penalty.

“It’s an immediate penalty that they experience on the spot,” she says.

CREATE MORE COST-CONSCIOUS KIDS

• Walk the talk – make sure you’re focusing on cost cutting too.

• Have the children contribute more at home, such as cooking one meal a fortnight instead of getting takeaway.

• Hold family finance check-ins, weekly or fortnightly.

• Practice gratitude for the resources you do have. There is always someone struggling more.

• Create a family cost savings challenge – siblings love rivalry.

Source: Money coach Karen Eley

Originally published as Money wasters: financial penalties might prompt children to think