An Allowance

About 2 months ago, we started giving Lyra an allowance. She gets 5Dhs each Friday. That's about $1.50. So, we're getting off cheap because we probably would have started with $5 (one dollar for each age) in the US.

Mostly, Lyra's very responsible with her money. She likes to put money in the charity boxes, so she has been using her allowance for that. If she wants a toy or treat, I'm now able to tell her that she can save up her allowance. She's been saving up for a Dora the Explorer book that she'd like to have. It's $12.99. I told her that if she saved half (25Dhs), I'd help her with half.

She started off pretty well and had 10 Dhs in savings. But then she needed to pay me back for some shorts that we bought at the shop a couple of weeks ago. When we were in the shop, I was pretty sure that she wouldn't like these shorts (she's into skirts & dresses these days). So, I asked her if she'd wear them and she assured me she would. So, we got them for 20Dhs. But now, she will never wear them. "Put them in the charity box," she told me the other day. "I will," I said, "but you'll need to pay me back with 4 week's of allowance." So, the 10Dhs from her dresser is now in my purse. Plus she didn't get an allowance last week, nor one this week. Then she'll be paid up.

This comes after she lost her allowance 2 weeks ago. She had her 5Dhs in her dress pocket and then somewhere when we were in the mall she realized it wasn't there any more. We searched lots of shops looking for it, but never found it. She asked, "Sometimes if a child loses their allowance, I wonder if the parents give them more money." We explained that even though she wasn't being irresponsible and playing with the money, it was her responsibility to keep it safe. So, even though it was lost, we couldn't replace it. She seemed to handle it well. Probably because she still hasn't really figured out what she's going to do with this money. Although she enjoys having it - she's not really fixated on what to spend it on.

Things she's purchased with her money are: fancy see-through glow-in-the-dark post it notes, two handfuls of candy dispensed from a coin operated despenser, several Dhs into the charity boxes, and various other snacks or treats. As I said earlier, she was trying to save up 25Dhs for when we got home to the US so she could buy a Dora the Explorer book. By the time we leave, she'll have 10Dhs. And if she loses these two wiggly teeth she discovered yesterday (that is a story for another post) then she'll have another 10Dhs, so while we're in the US she will have earned enough for the book, I guess.