It’s a tough task for parents today to funding and fulfilling their children’s demands. The recent incident of an 18-year-old girl dragging her mother to court in Mumbai asking her to foot her monthly expenses has come as a shocker to both youngsters and parents in the capital.
Animal activist and parent Ambika Shukla asks, “Are parents mere bank balance for children today? Why must they be treated like that? This incident is beyond shocking for me, as the girl wasn’t even living with her mother.”
Youngsters believe that they should have a healthy equation with parents regarding money. Vasundhara Singh Bhati, Class 10 student, says, “First of all, there’s nothing embarrassing about telling your parents if they want to know how you are spending your pocket-money. Secondly, try putting yourself in their shoes to know how they think and feel sometimes.”
Vasundhara says that she prefers not to take pocket-money from her parents beyond `200 that she gets for recharge every week. “I simply tell them to buy me what I want or if I have to go out with friends, I tell them in advance. I save all the money I get on occasions and utilise them to buy birthday gifts for friends,” she chuckles and adds that her father has taught her how to respect and save money.
Psychologist Dr Geetanjali Kumar avers that it’s also parents’ responsibility and duty to teach their children to value money from a very young age. She says, “There is a difference between realistic and unrealistic demand. In the stated case, if the girl was spending `2 lakhs every month, it must not have started one fine day. There must have been a pattern of her spending habits which her parents ignored. There is no harm in teaching one’s child about budgeting. We have experts to manage our funds, why not have wealth management at school level, where children are taught how to manage their pocket-money.”
Ambika says her children have never been unreasonable and understand how to handle wealth. “My daughter Aashali is the one whom I borrow money from most often. Neither she, nor my son is demanding. They have never thrown any tantrums. They understand it’s important for financial stability, but they also know it’s a privilege to be able to get what they ask for.”
For Delhi University student Surbhi Tandon, her weekly pocket money of `500 is enough. “I manage my travel, eating out or a movie in this. I am fine with whatever money my parents give me. I also believe that we cannot make our parents liable for our every need.”