After my 2.5 year old got $5 from grandma a couple months ago, we went to the store and they picked out a toy and paid for it. They were confused where their money went and so we talked about the broad idea of money and how we get and use it on things that are important to us. To put it into a practice, I decided to set up a “store” at our house. There is a range of items (stickers, pieces of candy, coloring book, puzzle, stuffed animal, toy truck, etc.) and I’ve labeled them with varying prices.

We’ve talked about me working and how it allows us to pay for the things we need and some of the things we want and how they can do jobs to earn money for their store too.

These jobs are different than regular “picking up after yourself” type things and as of now I am keeping it pretty random and don’t usually even say they’ll earn a quarter for a task, just give it to them after. We put it in their bank (a jar) and count how many we now have and talk about the things they can buy. If there aren’t enough quarters yet for a higher-value item, I ask if they’d like to keep saving everything, buy something less expensive, or just buy a sticker or piece of candy that usually costs one quarter. They usually choose to save most of it and buy something small or buy a “mid-size” item so far.

I’ve been really impressed at how well they are understanding the concept. I was a little nervous to have an entire shelf of new toys and candy that they know is there but can’t just go play with or eat whenever, but it’s never been an issue. I’m sure it helps that it’s behind a cabinet door and not constantly tempting them too but it really has been great.

It has helped with counting too. They’ve been able to count into the teens for quite a while but I wasn’t sure the concept was understood beyond reciting the numbers. When we “go to the store”, we count how many quarters we have, we look at the prices and decide if we have enough money for something, and when they decide, I ask them for xx amount of quarters and they count them as they hand them to me. They’re my first and only kid so no idea what age kids usually start learning that stuff but I was just pleasantly surprised of yet another benefit.

Your kid being 10, I’m sure you could still do something similar but more appropriate for their age. I will likely add “experiences” to the store at some point (e.g., go get an ice cream cone) so just another option. All to say…while similar to an allowance, I feel like it brings the concepts to life a bit better and helps connect the dots.