This plan, of course, requires that the kids first have a source of
funds from an allowance, work around the house, birthday gifts, or
some other financial reservoir. You can consider starting an
allowance with children who are about five years old or more. The
payment doesn’t have to be anything large, but it’s a good idea to
have half of it based on completing jobs around the house (for
example, cleaning the bedroom, chores, homework). The other half is
simply given to the child because he is part of the family—and also
so you have some leverage when it comes time to use the docking
procedure.
Let’s imagine you’ve been having discussions with your nine-
year-old son about getting a dog. Your son wants the dog, but you
wisely object that you’re concerned he won’t feed it and take care of
it properly. Let’s assume you get the dog (partly because you want
one too).
You then tell the child what the deal will be. He gets an allowance
of about three dollars per week. You want the dog fed before six each
night. If he feeds the dog then, fine. If he forgets to feed the dog
before six, you have good news and bad news. The good news is that
you will feed the dog for the boy. The bad news is that you charge to
feed other people’s dogs, and for this mutt it will be fifteen cents per
feeding taken off your son’s three-dollar allowance. The child readily
agrees, since he’s so happy about getting the dog to begin with.
Here’s how events might play out. The first night you’re in the
kitchen making dinner. It’s six ten, there’s no one around, and the
marcin
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