4 ms·

I feel that there are structural problems with this business concept that wouldn't be solved by a bank partner / additional capital / etc. Note that I am not a

by qq66 10y ago

I feel that there are structural problems with this business concept that wouldn't be solved by a bank partner / additional capital / etc. Note that I am not a parent. The fact is that kids should not be paid for chores on a chore-by-chore basis. This is perhaps the way that you should do things if you just need labor from your children, and want someone who will rake the leaves for cheaper than a hired gardener. But most parents also want to teach their children good values, and one of the most important social things to learn is about reciprocity in relationships. In transactional relationships, where you will perhaps never see the person again, reciprocity must be established immediately (paying for a cab ride, tipping a pizza delivery person). But in social relationships, immediate 1-for-1 reciprocity actually damages the relationship. If you were invited to a dinner party, would you try to pay the host for the cost of your food? Of course not. If it's casual friends, you might bring a bottle of wine, and if it's very close friends, you may not even do that, as you know you will be inviting them over at some point. Paying a child per chore teaches them to treat their family obligations as transactional obligations, rather than teaching them about the nature of reciprocity in a close personal relationship. Also, when teaching kids about money, I think that many parents prefer to teach kids about "the value of a dollar" with cash, rather than with a bank balance. My parents opened a bank account for me in 4th grade, which was very unusual at the time, to encourage me to save my money, but even then I found that spending money was and is a lot easier when it's a number on a screen than when it's paper money that you take out of your wallet. By first finding pennies and nickels on the street, then getting $5 bills from their parents, and then graduating into a bank account, people learn to appreicate just how many found nickels it takes to buy a flatscreen TV.

naveen99 10y ago
If the host accepted money for food, they'd be opening themselves up to liability and be violating restaurant laws. Agree with you in spirit though.
rossdavidh 10y ago
As a parent, let me say that I think it's ok to pay kids for chores, as long as it's clear that not everything you ask them to do gets them $$. Just these specific things. Then, when my kid has dropped yanked on her tablet power cord one to many times and has to buy another for $8, she appreciates those $8 more. I agree that physical money teaches that lesson better, though. This app seems to be a solution in search of a problem.
- danielvf 10y ago
  As an aside, what is the deal with kids and tablet cords!? (Vent over, you may resume your conversation.)
zekevermillion 10y ago
When I tunred 5, a beloved great aunt gave me a crip $20 bill for my birthday. My mom helped me open a bank account, and deposit the money (along with the contents of my piggy bank). About a week later, I wanted to know if I could get my $20 back out to admire it. I was told that I could get a $20 bill, but it would not be the same one. I found this very upsetting, and I think I may have cried.
- arkitaip 10y ago
  Christ that's heartbreaking.
  - adriand 10y ago
    I can't tell if you're being serious. Are you? It doesn't seem heartbreaking to me at all, it seems goofy in a very typically childish way. It's a $20 bill, not the death of a pet (or a grandparent for that matter), or a parental divorce, or some other genuinely heartbreaking event.
    - samirillian 10y ago
      Consider de Balzac's Eugenie Grandet: Monsieur Grandet is something of a tragic character, tormented by the fact that he could not both circulate his currency and have it too.
- cperciva 10y ago
  They should have told you that $20 bills are like electrons: Every one of them is the same one. :-)
  - gruez 10y ago
    Not sure if the kid would believe it when he gets back a wrinkled old bill.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
karmajunkie 10y ago
Those aren't structural problems, they're a difference in opinion on how to raise kids. You may not think that's a good way to teach kids about finances but that just means you're not in the target market.
- qq66 10y ago
  That's true. What I should have said was "market size problems." The size of the market depends on how many parents think that this would be a good idea to use with their kids.
winter_blue 10y ago
Excellent point about reciprocity! Children should be encouraged to do good thinks (incl. acts of service) for each other not for payment, but for the sake of the relationship itself.
guelo 10y ago
I'm surprised they got as far as they did with such a weak idea.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
methodover 10y ago
> But in social relationships, immediate 1-for-1 reciprocity actually damages the relationship. I'm not sure if your opinion here is anything more than cultural bias. I see nothing inherantly damaging about such behavior.
- omeid2 10y ago
  When the people evolved have different financial condition, it _can_ easily damage the relationship.
Splines 10y ago
> Paying a child per chore teaches them to treat their family obligations as transactional obligations, rather than teaching them about the nature of reciprocity in a close personal relationship. Plus, the child then has the option of turning down the chores if they decide they don't need the money.
theinternetman 10y ago
> Note that I am not a parent Does that really matter? Starting to get a bit fed up with this concept that parents are somehow blessed with esoteric wisdom that people without children can't possibly grasp. It's a fairly simple concept and surely even a childless person can understand where and why this went wrong. It's not as hard to imagine life with children as parents seem to believe.
- qq66 10y ago
  I can imagine that once a person has more demands on their time, their willingness take the quick and dirty approach increases (TV babysitter, bribes for chores, etc)
mratzloff 10y ago
As a kid, I had a set of chores I was expected and required to do. Then there were chores I could do, above and beyond my normal list of chores, that I would be paid for. I had no allowance whatsoever. I think this method is best. In addition to teaching me to be industrious and to spend my hard-earned money wisely, it had the (probably unexpected) side benefit of teaching me to negotiate raises. Upon deciding that the pay wasn't worth the labor involved (when I could mow neighbors' yards instead for more money), I mentioned this. My mom, who is in management, replied, "Well, what do you think these are worth, then?" And then we negotiated to a mutually-acceptable set of numbers. This probably happened again after I got my first part-time job at 15. Extra chores, at a couple dollars each, are how I paid for my own NES and the handful of games I had as a kid, since my parents didn't buy me video games. You had better believe I took immaculate care of them.
- qq66 10y ago
  That does sound like a reasonable approach. Some chores are just part of your obligations to the family, others are "extra credit."

by qq66 10y ago

naveen99 10y ago

If the host accepted money for food, they'd be opening themselves up to liability and be violating restaurant laws. Agree with you in spirit though.

rossdavidh 10y ago

As a parent, let me say that I think it's ok to pay kids for chores, as long as it's clear that not everything you ask them to do gets them $$. Just these specific things. Then, when my kid has dropped yanked on her tablet power cord one to many times and has to buy another for $8, she appreciates those $8 more. I agree that physical money teaches that lesson better, though. This app seems to be a solution in search of a problem.

danielvf 10y ago
As an aside, what is the deal with kids and tablet cords!? (Vent over, you may resume your conversation.)

zekevermillion 10y ago

When I tunred 5, a beloved great aunt gave me a crip $20 bill for my birthday. My mom helped me open a bank account, and deposit the money (along with the contents of my piggy bank). About a week later, I wanted to know if I could get my $20 back out to admire it. I was told that I could get a $20 bill, but it would not be the same one. I found this very upsetting, and I think I may have cried.

arkitaip 10y ago
Christ that's heartbreaking.
- adriand 10y ago
  I can't tell if you're being serious. Are you? It doesn't seem heartbreaking to me at all, it seems goofy in a very typically childish way. It's a $20 bill, not the death of a pet (or a grandparent for that matter), or a parental divorce, or some other genuinely heartbreaking event.
  - samirillian 10y ago
    Consider de Balzac's Eugenie Grandet: Monsieur Grandet is something of a tragic character, tormented by the fact that he could not both circulate his currency and have it too.
cperciva 10y ago
They should have told you that $20 bills are like electrons: Every one of them is the same one. :-)
- gruez 10y ago
  Not sure if the kid would believe it when he gets back a wrinkled old bill.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]

karmajunkie 10y ago

Those aren't structural problems, they're a difference in opinion on how to raise kids. You may not think that's a good way to teach kids about finances but that just means you're not in the target market.

qq66 10y ago
That's true. What I should have said was "market size problems." The size of the market depends on how many parents think that this would be a good idea to use with their kids.

winter_blue 10y ago

Excellent point about reciprocity! Children should be encouraged to do good thinks (incl. acts of service) for each other not for payment, but for the sake of the relationship itself.

guelo 10y ago

I'm surprised they got as far as they did with such a weak idea.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

methodover 10y ago

> But in social relationships, immediate 1-for-1 reciprocity actually damages the relationship. I'm not sure if your opinion here is anything more than cultural bias. I see nothing inherantly damaging about such behavior.

omeid2 10y ago
When the people evolved have different financial condition, it _can_ easily damage the relationship.

Splines 10y ago

> Paying a child per chore teaches them to treat their family obligations as transactional obligations, rather than teaching them about the nature of reciprocity in a close personal relationship. Plus, the child then has the option of turning down the chores if they decide they don't need the money.

theinternetman 10y ago

> Note that I am not a parent Does that really matter? Starting to get a bit fed up with this concept that parents are somehow blessed with esoteric wisdom that people without children can't possibly grasp. It's a fairly simple concept and surely even a childless person can understand where and why this went wrong. It's not as hard to imagine life with children as parents seem to believe.

qq66 10y ago
I can imagine that once a person has more demands on their time, their willingness take the quick and dirty approach increases (TV babysitter, bribes for chores, etc)

mratzloff 10y ago

As a kid, I had a set of chores I was expected and required to do. Then there were chores I could do, above and beyond my normal list of chores, that I would be paid for. I had no allowance whatsoever. I think this method is best. In addition to teaching me to be industrious and to spend my hard-earned money wisely, it had the (probably unexpected) side benefit of teaching me to negotiate raises. Upon deciding that the pay wasn't worth the labor involved (when I could mow neighbors' yards instead for more money), I mentioned this. My mom, who is in management, replied, "Well, what do you think these are worth, then?" And then we negotiated to a mutually-acceptable set of numbers. This probably happened again after I got my first part-time job at 15. Extra chores, at a couple dollars each, are how I paid for my own NES and the handful of games I had as a kid, since my parents didn't buy me video games. You had better believe I took immaculate care of them.

qq66 10y ago
That does sound like a reasonable approach. Some chores are just part of your obligations to the family, others are "extra credit."