Value for Money?

With all the schools in NZ entering lockdown, it has been interesting to see the reaction of teachers and parents to what is going on. It’s made many consider whether education in New Zealand gives value for money.

Of particular interest to me have been the number of teachers and educational leaders trying to allay the fears of parents. According to some, parents shouldn’t worry too much about trying to ensure their kids are working as normal. I’ve even heard some say things like, “Six weeks of missing school isn’t going to hurt kids.” When interviewed on Seven Sharp, Nigel Latta, a well-known New Zealand psychologist and author, was asked how much school work children needed to do while in lockdown. His answer was none unless the children wanted to. Latta said, “Don’t do it, and it will do them no harm at all.” And when asked about parents who might worry about their children falling behind, he said, “They totally will not fall behind. You absolutely shouldn’t worry about this.”

Well in a sense, I understand the point. In the big scheme of things, four, five or even six weeks of missing school may not make a huge difference, particularly for a child in the primary years, and especially if they come from a loving home with fairly well-educated parents. Latta is right, it’s extremely important for parents to provide a calm and safe environment in these times.

But there’s another perspective. I’m a teacher in an independent school which works on a shoestring budget and must attract and retain paying customers. I’ve taught both primary and secondary students, and I would argue that four weeks do matter. In a well-run classroom, with an enthusiastic and organised expert teacher, four weeks can result in tonnes of learning! Parents who are paying taxes and paying a school to educate their children would not be impressed if a school made little or no progress with their child in half a term.

What if Latta and some New Zealand teachers are correct in saying that four to six weeks missed from school isn’t going to matter? That raises an important question. How important is what teachers are doing in school, if missing six weeks has few implications educationally? If this is true, what kind of value for money are we getting from our public education system? Are teachers just glorified babysitters who enable Mum and Dad to pursue a more comfortable living standard? What sort of educational bang for buck are we getting here?

In New Zealand, education makes up around 18% of New Zealand Government expenditure. That’s a whole lot of our tax dollars being put into the education of children. Given the amount of money spent, are we not entitled to expect some sort of return? What kind of value for money are we getting if 4-6 weeks or between 14 to 22% of a school year can be missed with little to no impact on a child?

If our children can be at home with Mum or Dad, ignore most if not all of their school work, and not be disadvantaged, that really doesn’t paint a flattering picture of what is happening in our schools.

But let’s be honest, not every New Zealand school or teacher would claim to have little to no effect on children in this sort of time frame. Schools vary in impact. Yet it would not be wrong to say that in a number of New Zealand schools children would be better off at home pottering around with Mum or Dad. They would learn more!

If there’s one good thing to come out of this lockdown educationally, it’s been that parents have been able to get a bit more of a handle on what their children are learning at school. A number of parents in my acquaintance have been shocked to learn just how poorly their children are being educated by their local schools.

Perhaps some parents will exit lockdown with a new perspective on education. It’s possible some will see the wasted time and opportunities in their local schools and look at change. Perhaps some will embrace independent education. Maybe others will look at lifestyle and consider whether two incomes are absolutely necessary and whether dialling down living standard expectations might enable them to homeschool. Whatever the case, let’s hope we all come out of this lockdown taking our children’s education more seriously.

Parenting Philosophy – Who runs your household?

As a teacher, I see all types of parents and parenting philosophies. I also see the end products.

One type of parent that I see is what could be described as ‘well-meaning, but powerless’. This sort of parent complains to the teacher about their child’s behaviour and how they are unhappy about what he is doing, but they are unable to prevent it. A classic case is the child who continues to use technology when the parent tries to limit it.

How does one get to a stage where a primary aged child refuses to do what his Mum or Dad asks and Mum and Dad are helpless to do anything about it? It all comes down to parenting philosophy. Many new parents-to-be, naively view parenting as something that comes naturally and easily. The idea of a philosophy of parenting seems to over-complicate things.

The reality is that every parent has one, whether they can state it explicitly or not. And given that the nature of both parents and their offspring is fallen and impacted by rebellion against the Creator, we cannot assume our natural approach is the best approach.

So how do parents end up tearing their hair out over a rebellious primary aged child who does not do what they ask? It happens because from the outset of parenting, they have operated out of a faulty understanding of the nature of the child, and the purpose of the parent.

A modern view of the child and parent

What is the nature of the child? Modern parenting and educational philosophies view the child as containing pent up and endless potential for good, just waiting for the opportunity to express their innate truth, goodness and creativity. Children are the answer to the problems the world faces. They will solve the problems of climate change, racism, sexism and any of the other current -ism’s and ‘phobias’, if parents and teachers would just listen to their wisdom.

Where do we see this worldview today? Everywhere. One place where it is particularly obvious is our modern education system. We speak of child-centred education, and student agency. We see modern learning environments where students determine what they want to learn, how they want to learn, and who they want to learn with. When Johnny isn’t learning, we immediately point the finger at a teacher who is perhaps no engaging, or not catering to Johnny’s preferred learning style.

This worldview is also behind the absurd modern trend of seeking the voice of younger and younger people on serious and complex issues they can’t possibly understand. Thus we have teenagers, whipped into a state of emotional frenzy and fear by teachers and a media focussed on doomsday predictions, protesting over climate change despite having very basic to no knowledge of the scientific discussion. Enter Greta Thunberg with her irritatingly emotional and scientifically devoid blackmail foisted upon us by mainstream media.

A biblical view of the child and parent

Biblical wisdom views the child differently. In the book of Proverbs, Solomon reminds the reader that “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of the child.” Children are conceived in sin. From their very conception, they are tainted by the sin of our father Adam. Thus a chid’s natural inclinations and impulses have to be curbed, and altered so they can live as useful members of society. What comes unnaturally to them must be instilled into them.

That means that our approach to parenting and educating children should not be child-centred if by that we mean driven by doing what the child wants, is interested in, or thinks they need. No, it will be determined by what they actually need, which is the direction, intervention and training of a wise adult.

It doesn’t take a genius to work out which of these views meshes with reality. All it takes is a parent with open eyes. Very early on in the life of a child, as soon as they are able to physically express it, rebellion and self-centeredness become obvious. My youngest has just turned one, and it has been obvious in her for at least 6 months. When told ‘no’ or ‘don’t touch’ she will regularly look at us and reach out to touch what she has been forbidden to touch. When she doesn’t want to eat the food I am offering her on a spoon, she will reach out and hit my hand away, even when what I am offering is good for her, and what she wants to eat is not! No, it is clear to all who would open their eyes that children do not enter this world automatically good and knowing what they need to develop. That is a foolish view.

The Folly of Attachment Parenting

Recently an acquaintance complained to me that her son never does what they tell him to do at home, although he usually behaves for others. I found her complaint amusing, given that her approach to child-raising seems to be an attachment parenting, child-led philosophy.

From birth, subscribers to attachment parenting essentially teach their children that they know best and are able to determine their own sleeping and eating schedules. I have witnessed this parent allow her baby/toddler demand to be fed by pulling up her blouse at random times, and the oldest child at 9 years old apparently decides when he wants to go to bed at night! It struck me as ironic then, that a parent who has told her child that he knows best and allowed him to have total control from day one would be surprised that he refuses to come under her authority and obey her rules! Isn’t that the logical consequence of this philosophy?

Unfortunately for these kids, they are going to be avoided by adults and will probably have difficulty in forming friendships, given that a good relationship requires the ability to give way to others and compromise. They need to realise that they are not the centre of the universe!

This brief interaction highlights just one reason why attachment parenting is a faulty philosophy for raising children.

The Madness of Our Times

The following is a horrific case of state-enforced child-abuse in Canada. I don’t know what protections we have from this evil in New Zealand, but my experience as a teacher tells me that there are many in the education sector who want to promote this agenda in our country. Already it is legal for a girl under 16 to get an abortion without the knowledge or consent of her parents. The state thinks it owns your children.

What we need is pushback against state power. Parents, not the state, nor the school, are responsible for children. The family needs protection against overweening state intrusion. The pushback begins as each of us as citizens choose not to vote for those who argue for more government power to solve our problems. The bigger the government, the more power is taken from other spheres of society, such as family, church and voluntary groups, and the more intrusion we have to fear.

Heartbroken Dad Of Trans Teen Breaks Gag To Beg For End Of ‘State-Sponsored Child Abuse’

Jeremiah Keenan

The Federalist

For the past 11 months, Robert Hoogland, a father in Surrey, British Columbia, has been forced to watch as his 14 year-old daughter was “destroyed and sterilized” by court-ordered testosterone injections. After losing his legal appeal to stop the process in January, Rob (previously anonymized as “Clark” or “CD”) is making a desperate attempt to bring his case into the courts of public opinion, even though it breaks a court order demanding his silence about the case.

“I had a perfectly healthy child a year ago, and that perfectly healthy child has been altered and destroyed for absolutely no good reason,” Rob said in an exclusive interview. “She can never go back to being a girl in the healthy body that she should have had. She’s going to forever have a lower voice. She’ll forever have to shave because of facial hair. She won’t be able to have children…”

Rob felt that at the age of 14—when the courts judged his daughter competent to take testosterone without parental consent—she simply did not have the foresight necessary to understand such consequences. Over the course of the past year, Rob has heard his daughter’s voice deepen and crack and watched her begin to grow facial hair.

“Sometimes I just want to scream so that other parents and people will… jump in, understand what’s going on,” Rob said. “There’s a child—and not only mine, but in my case, my child out there having her life ruined,” and yet, Rob felt, “people don’t [even] know.”

Rob’s efforts to raise awareness of his daughter’s plight have come at a high cost. The last time he granted an interview to The Federalist, he was convicted of “family violence” by the BC Supreme Court for his “expressions of rejection of [his daughter’s] gender identity.” He was also placed under threat of immediate arrest if he was caught referring to his daughter as a girl again.

While a January ruling in the BC Court of Appeal vacated that threat, Rob remains under a strict gag order forbidding him from speaking about his daughter’s case in public and requiring that he “acknowledge and refer to [his daughter] as male” in private.

But Rob says he feels a moral responsibility to try to fight the laws and the court rulings which have “destroyed” his daughter. “People need to stand up and realize that [the courts are] sterilizing children, essentially, and mutilating them,” Rob said. “It’s… state-sponsored child abuse.”

Feeling that if he lacked the courage to speak out, he could scarcely expect others to stand up and help him, Rob granted two video interviews to Canadian YouTube commentators about his case. While the interviews garnered a sharp initial interest, the commentators who granted them quickly found themselves under threats of litigation. Rob’s first interview was immediately taken down. Rob’s second interviewer, Laura-Lynn Thompson, faced similar threats, but initially refused to take her video (not currently available in Canada) down.

Last Thursday, Justice Michael Tammen of the British Columbia Supreme Court ordered that Thompson’s interview and various social media posts be taken down. When Thompson stalled, trying to keep a rapidly sharing copy of her interview available to Canadians on Bitchute, the police were sent to her house to demand she take the video down.

Tammen also harshly reprimanded Rob for speaking about his case to the media, warning him that if he broke his silence again, he would likely be cited for contempt of court.

Nevertheless, Rob says he is unwilling to back down. “Whatever happens to me pales in comparison to what’s already happened to my daughter.” Rob feels there is no way for him to fight “this child abuse” of his daughter except to force his story out into the open.

The path forward is not likely to be easy, but Rob said he feels a responsibility to tell his story that goes much deeper than anything court costs or even jail time could deflect. “Let’s say in 5, 10 years my daughter is detransitioning, and she turns to me and says, you know, ‘Dad or Mom, why did none of you do anything to stop this?’…. When my daughter asks me that question, I’ll say, ‘I did everything that I possibly could. There was nothing more I could do, and then when there was nothing more I could do, I continued on because I didn’t want other parents to go through what I went through.”


(Rob has set up a crowdfunding page for those who may wish to help.)

Serving God

We can serve God whatever work we do. That truth should also free us from guilt. It is especially common among parents. They are so busy feeding babies throughout the night and throughout the day, changing nappies and ferrying children here, there and everywhere that they do not have the time or energy they used to have to study the Bible or get involved in programmes at church, As they look at some of their friends who still read the Bible and pray for one hour every day and are at church meeting two evenings a week, they think to themselves: ‘I’m not doing enough for the Lord.’ But we are not only serving Christ when we are at church or have a Bible open in front of us. Parenting is Christian service; it is a job entrusted to mothers and fathers by God. That is true of all our work.

– Vaughan Roberts in God’s Big Design.

Your most valuable ministry

Children can be extremely inconvenient. Personal goals, career goals, exercise goals and even ministry goals are impacted by the advent of children. Here’s a little anecdote of how children impact life. I remember when I was single. If I wanted to go somewhere, I could be out of the house, in the car and on my way within the space of 5 minutes. Marriage impacted that. One does not simply walk out the door. So the new time was 15 minutes. Children? Forget getting out the door in a hurry. An hour could be cutting things fine. Just before you’re ready to go, it’s almost guaranteed there will be a poo explosion requiring nappy and outfit changes. And inevitably, when you do actually get everyone in the car, and start driving down the road, someone will remember they have forgotten their hat, shoes or favourite stuffed toy or some other essential item.

If that’s the effect on something as simple as getting out of the house, it’s not surprising that the impacts on other areas of life are going to be equally seismic. Small wonder then, that people are having fewer children, having them later, or deciding not to have children at all. In the age of self, children put a damper on things.

Children and God’s People

While it’s unsurprising to see these trends in the world around us, it is unfortunate to see them creeping into the church. More frequently we see both parents out working, while their children are in daycare. I work as a teacher, and one of the saddest things I hear is parents complaining about the hassle of having to have children home in the school holidays. Children are seen as a nuisance to be shunted out of the house as frequently as possible, not priceless souls to treasure. So now school holiday programmes are the order of the day. I’ve even heard committed Christians ponder whether they are going to have children because they are considering the impact it might have on their potential usefulness to God. The implication is that children might get in the way of ministry.

We’ve been captured by the empty and hollow philosophy of our age. Climbing career ladders and earning more will give us self-worth. We’ve believed the lie that the more we capture places of greatness, the more impact we have. If we have our leaders in politics, and huge institutional churches, if we control places of power, then we can impact the world for God. And while there is nothing wrong with these things, we are forgetting great principles of the kingdom. In God’s order, the one who is the greatest is the servant of all. In God’s order, children are set up as an example of how the kingdom of heaven is entered. In God’s kingdom, Jesus wasn’t too busy to spend time with children.

This negative view of children is in sharp contrast with the biblical picture of children and family. God’s first command to people was, “Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it.” The earth was not to remain in an undeveloped garden state. God intended for people to develop agriculture, industry, commerce, music, education; a well-functioning society and civilization. And how was Adam to go about this duty? He needed a helper, and God provided Eve. How did Eve help Adam fulfil his purpose? Surely that is obvious. By having a family. We fulfil the creation mandate to fill the earth and subdue it by having children and raising families.

The people of God through Scripture understood the importance of family and children. In Psalm 128, the man who is blessed has a wife who is like a fruitful vine and there are little olive shoots all around the table! In Psalm 127, the man who has many children is described as blessed. Children are seen as a reward from God, and the way God’s people impact the world around them. In fact, throughout history, God has chosen to do his work in the world through families. In the covenant with Abraham, God promised Abraham ‘seed’, and that through his family, all nations of the earth would be blessed. And when God sent the great Messiah, to come and rescue his people, he didn’t send him into the world as a fully-grown adult unencumbered by family ties so he could more effectively get on with the business of his mission. No, Christ came as a baby born into a human family.

So the question is not, “How will children impact my ministry?” Children are the ministry God blesses us with. For most people, they will be the single most important ministry assignment God gives. Each child is an eternal soul, entrusted to us by the Creator. We are given the absolute privilege and weighty responsibility to mould and shape and send these souls, not only into the world to bless others, but into eternity to their own blessing or eternal sorrow. Children are not getting in the way of ministry. They are the ministry God gives!

Given this blessed God-given assignment, what should we do?

Parents

If we are parents, we should remind ourselves of the privilege we have been given at regular intervals. As parents, aside from our own walk with Christ, and our relationship with our spouse, the next most important calling given to us by God is our children. That being so, career must pale into insignificance. The pervasive cultural narrative that you find yourself in your career is not only anti-Christian, but it is also anti-family. Thus we regularly need an antidote to this poisonous falsehood.

Men need this reminder often. It is easy for men, particularly if they are the sole bread-winner, to spend more and more time at work and thinking about work. Yes, work is important. It helps us feed our families, and it is a God-given way of serving society, but it ranks below serving our wife and our children. We need to set in place strict limits that work cannot cross so that we can serve our families.

For women, there are perhaps more hurdles to cross. In the age where feminism seems to have carried the day, it is easy for a mother who stays at home to raise her children to become disillusioned and feel that what she is doing is not valuable. Women have been sold the lie that they are the same as men, and their goals and roles should be the same. Trying to both be good mothers and have careers makes many feel defeated. But since having a meaningful career seems to be how greatness is now defined, few would risk shunning that path.

Our world measures greatness quite differently from God. Recently in Disciplines of a Godly Family, I read this quote: ‘…many people are captive to a culture that defines self-worth and fulfillment in terms of contribution, name, education, and money. Society applauds the person who designs a building more than it does the one who attends to the architecture of a child’s soul.’ Dabney’s famous quote is also a helpful antidote to the view of this age that raising children is so insignificant that it can be farmed out to strangers.

Young Singles

For those who are young and thinking about life’s purpose and goals, think about how marriage and family may be a major part of that. Admittedly, not all marry. However, in a large majority of cases, God will give us the marriage and family assignment. In light of this, it is vital to make wise decisions in your late teens and early twenties that will aid your future self.

Think carefully about how to position yourself financially so that you can parent well. Avoid unnecessary debt. Consider whether tertiary education really is necessary, or if you are heaping up debt for no good reason. Debt will be like a millstone around your neck, preventing you from investing in the little souls that will come along in the not-too-distant future. Sometimes a university education is wise, but do not just assume this is what you must do because everyone does it. Question the typical narrative.

Is an OE really the best use of your finances and youth? Of course it would be a whole lot of fun. Yet, it may cause your future self a lot of headaches. Be aware that life is full of opportunity costs. I’ve heard so many of my contemporaries complain about how lucky house owners are, forgetting about the wonderful, yet expensive, OE they enjoyed earlier in life. Money saved earlier in life has the ability to grow far more than money saved in midlife. That’s just how interest works. So don’t cause your future self plenty of stress. If you spend up large now, you are highly likely to struggle to financially support your family in a world of high rents and low incomes. Either that or you may be forced to become a dual-income family or put off children until you are able to attain a more secure financial position. None of these options is ideal for your future children.

Save and get a house. In New Zealand, particularly in main centres, housing costs are difficult for single-income families, and unless you act with foresight in your first decade out of school, you can make life extremely difficult for yourself and family later. Buy a house earlier, pay down as much of the mortgage as you can, and your housing costs will be far lower than those paying rent by the time you have children and want to drop to a single income. For my wife and I, frugality, and the choices we made and opportunities we chose to forgo have enabled us to have a bigger family despite being on one teacher’s income. Getting a house and paying down debt really helped. To rent the house we are in now on a single-income would be impossible for us. But having entered the market earlier, we have very low housing costs per week. My purpose here is not to boast, for we were given wise counsel. Rather I am trying to encourage you, that even if your income outlook is below average, by acting wisely now, you can help position yourself well for future family life.

In addition, I urge you to develop a can-do attitude to finance. Too many people I know have looked at the huge hurdle of saving for a house and despaired. Rather than packing away the savings in a regular manner, they just see it all as hopeless and decide to take the opposite course and just spend. The truth is that a little bit here and a little bit there slowly but surely add up. You cut down a (carbon neutral!) forest one tree at a time.

Finally, while this may seem controversial and counter-cultural, young women should consider carefully their training and career options. Popular culture is a purveyor of the lie that you can have it all. You can’t. Spend years and years racking up debt and training to be a doctor will for most women make staying at home with children a difficult, if not impossible feat. Consider attaining skills that can be used to make money from home. Again, while not all will marry, and it is wise to be able to provide for oneself if that is the case, most women do in fact marry. Some career options are more conducive to raising a family than others. Whether in our age of equal opportunities we like this or not, it is true. Children are not accessories for our lives to make us feel good and complete. They are little souls, and research very clearly shows they need their mothers in the early years.

Churches and Church Leaders

Churches and church leaders including pastors should think about how they can support families.

Firstly, given that all members of a congregation have lived as children in families, many are living in families, and many will marry and begin new families, regular teaching in this area is essential. In my experience, churches are often willing to espouse hard truths about some topics – often finance – but are more reticent to talk about child-raising. But for most of us, working out our faith is in the context of family. We need to hear about this. We need our leaders to encourage us to be different. We are surrounded by a culture that demeans marriage and family, that espouses the lie that women find meaning in work and should escape the demeaning confines of home and hearth. We need encouragement to fight against this all-encompassing milieu. Help us take every thought captive for Christ. Help us develop a distinctly Christian way of looking at marriage and family and how these interact with work and finance. Help us see that some ways of raising a family are more helpful to our children than others. Help us critique the secular approach to family and children around us. Explain to the young the importance of preparing for marriage and family – not just from a spiritual perspective, but from a practical perspective. Encourage young people to save rather than just spend and give.

Secondly, churches should consider the impact of church calendars and activities on the family. Churches of various stripes are notorious for meetings. Cut them back to the essential. Working men have little enough time with their children as it is. Make sure your approach to meetings takes this into account. Do members really need to attend quarterly meetings for reading the Bible in church services? Expect less from your volunteers. Don’t act like a corporation demanding exacting standards. The church is not a corporation. It’s a body. It’s a flock. Care for it. Make sure that your get-togethers are family-friendly. Don’t always age-segregate activities. Encourage families to be together in your church services. Include children in your service planning, and make services shorter so the little ones can handle this.

There are many practical things churches can do to support families. One practical aid would be to somehow assist new mothers to transition into motherhood. Becoming a first-time mum can be very difficult. Going from the hustle and bustle and adult environment of work to being at home with a little baby in suburbs empty of adults during the day can be extremely lonely. Connecting new mothers with other like-minded mothers further down the parenthood path could be extremely useful.

I began by highlighting the inconveniences of parenting. But that’s not where we should end. God planned for family. It is his design. So there should be no surprises, that when we focus on performing this calling for his glory rather than avoiding committing ourselves to it, we will find joy and blessing.

Teaching Children About Money

In the last few years, my wife and I have invested small amounts of money in peer to peer lending. It offers far better interest rates than regular bank savings accounts. What an eye-opening experience! Harmoney, one of the companies we have loaned money through gives quite a lot of detail about potential loans. These details help lenders decide whether they want to loan to a particular person.

One that stuck out to me was a young woman who wanted to borrow thousands of dollars to go on holiday with her family. Apparently, the family had been planning a get-together for some time. Despite her good income, and the fact that she was living at home with parents, she had not been able to save for the holiday, and was asking to borrow the money instead at the exorbitant rate of 40%.

We choose only to lend to people who meet a number of strict criteria, so needless to say, this woman received nothing from us. However, it did get me thinking about the importance of passing on good financial sense to my children. How can parents help their children avoid the many pitfalls in managing money?

A great introduction to this is in the book Raising Financially Confident Kids by Mary Hunt. For me, the best part of the book was the salary structure she introduced to her family. When her children reached a certain age, they were given a monthly salary. This salary was designed to cover some of the items she and her husband used to buy for their children. Each year, the salary was raised. The raise would be commensurate with the child’s ability and the new responsibilities he would have in the new year.

There were a few simple non-negotiables. For instance, absolutely no loans. Even if the child had the money at home but not with them. 10% of the salary had to be put into long-term savings and 10% was to be given away. Purchases had to fit with family values. Aside from these few rules, Mary took a largely hands-off approach, and let her children make decisions and reap the consequences.

One disadvantage of the book was that there was no specific plan of attack for what a child would have to use their salary for each year. So this is something readers have to work out for themselves. For those of you interested here is a model first-year salary plan we have come up with for our eldest.

First Year Salary Plan 2020

Goals

The goal of this plan is to assist and teach Grace to grow gradually into an effective money manager who is not controlled by money, but rather uses money to provide for her needs and use it generously for God’s kingdom.

Commencement Date

The commencement date for this plan is January 2020

Salary

The monthly salary will be $35 per month. This will be reviewed annually, with the next review when Grace turns 11 in 2021.

Mandatory Disbursement

1. Giving: Every month Grace will take 10% of her salary and place this in her giving jar. When this jar reaches a total of $20, she will decide where or who to give the money to with guidance from Mum and Dad.

2. Long Term Savings: Every month, Grace will take 10% of her salary and place in her long-term savings jar. The savings will accrue throughout the year, and once per year be placed into the bank of Dad where she will receive a generous rate of interest.

Responsibility List

In 2020, Grace will be responsible for paying for the following things:-

Clothing

  • Footwear
  • Socks
  • Underwear
  • Hats
  • Hair ties

Presents

  • Birthday parties
  • Family presents

Entertainment

  • Non-family entertainment / treats

This list will be reviewed annually (or sooner if necessary) and added to.

Rules

While Mum and Dad will retain a hands-off attitude regarding spending choices, there will be a few rules that you must abide by.

  1. You must abide by the mandatory disbursements listed above
  2. You may not buy for yourself or anyone in the family anything that is against our family values for children. These items include, but are not limited to:-
    • Mobile phones
    • Other electronic devices
    • Immodest clothing
  3. You may never ask for an advance on your salary, nor are you allowed to borrow money. If you do not have your money with you, you will not be able to buy something.
  4. You must keep a written spending record of everything you spend money on.
Infractions

Failure to complete your family responsibilities (jobs), failure to abide by the rules for your salary, or disobedience and disrespect may lead to fines. Fines must be paid by the due date or reduction in salary may occur.

Graduation Day

Grace will graduate from her salary 3 months after she has completed her schooling.

Signatures

Mum and Dad: _________________________

Child: _____________________

Date: ___________________

The Value of Parenting

“The education of children for God is the most important business done on earth.  It is the one business for which the earth exists.  To it all politics, all war, all literature, all money making ought to be subordinated; and every parent especially ought to feel, every hour of the day, that next to making his own calling and election sure, this is the end for which he is kept alive by God- this is his task on earth.“

Robert Lewis Dabney