Friday Thoughts: Seeing the world through a child’s eyes.

My son, Barrett (6 ½ years old) brought me the mail yesterday.

As usual, there was some junk mail and a few bills.

Barrett looked over the stack of envelopes and asked me, “Dadda, why do you always get these?”

“Get what, bills?” I replied.

“Yeah Dadda, bills. Why do you always get these?”

I chuckled. “Well, I have to pay them.” I told him.

Barrett looked slightly confused for a minute and then said, “Well, why can’t someone else pay them so you don’t have to?”

GREAT QUESTION!

I dropped down to his level so we were face to face and then went on to explain to him, in the simplest terms I could, that it’s OUR responsibility to take care of ourselves. But it’s also our responsibility to help those who TRULY cannot take care of themselves.

We have to be self-reliant, resilient, driven and motivated, I told Barrett.  After all, “Dicker’s never quit!” to which he laughed. That said, we must always remain compassionate for others, I told him.

Both of our children have three piggy banks. Why three? The idea came from a client of mine who shared it with me when I first had kids.

• One piggy bank is for anything they want.
• One piggy bank is for education (note that I didn’t necessarily say for college).
• And one piggy bank is for helping others (and I didn’t just say charity).

Both of my kids receive five dollars every week, which they have to split up and put into their three piggy banks. It’s always interesting and even illuminating to watch them split up the money and hear there take on what the money means to them, their future, and how it can help others.

(And it’s hilarious when they ask if they can have a twenty or hundred-dollar bill instead of a fiver “because it looks cool”. I tend to agree!)

For me, my children offer the opportunity to see the world through their eyes again.

In these trying and unprecedented time, all of us are relearning these fundamental lessons in some way; lessons about finance, helping others, and also about life. Every day, we’re re-learning how to be self-reliant, self-disciplined, and definitely showcasing the best of humanity with our compassion.

So, I do my best to instill those values in them every day. But to be honest, I think most days, they’re the ones who are teaching and reminding me about what’s important!

For that, I am eternally grateful!

–J.D.