by Candy Jules

Created on: June 17, 2009

I earned my money the old fashioned way. It's called work. I went to work in a Bargain barn when I was fifteen years old. The bargain barn was like a Walmart, or K Mart.

My folks said as long as I kept my grades up, I would be allowed to hold down a job. It was a great feeling when I got my first paycheck, as menial as it was. I knew I had earned it on my own.

There is absolutely no reason a child should not learn responsibility at a young age. They learn that money doesn't grow on trees. They also learn to appreciate their own items because they had to work for them.

When a family has more than one child, money doesn't always come easy, especially with the prices the way they are now. Children are expensive, and the older they get, the more it costs. Some are in sports, some are in band, some just like nice things and mom and dad don't always have enough money to go around.

I raised my three children alone, and believe me, it was so hard. They wanted to have things like all their friends, and sometimes, I just couldn't do it. I hated to see the look of disappointment on their faces. They deserved to have nice things to. Every child wants to fit in.

I remember the struggles my parents had to raise four of us. Daddy's long hours, and mom sewing clothes so we would have new ones when school started. We appreciated what we had because we knew if we ruined it, there would be no more for awhile.

Children need to learn that life is not going to be handed to them on a silver platter. If you want something that bad, then be willing to work for it. It will mean more in the long run. My son had to buy his own car when he was sixteen. I was already making payments on the family car. I couldn't even help him.

He had a job at the family airstrip. His father, before he was killed, was a crop duster so he learned early in life, how to work. My daughter worked in a restaurant at the age of fifteen. She made more off of her tips than she did on salary. Being a pretty teenager didn't hurt her chances either.

My children grew up knowing how to work. They were taught not to steal. When you take something that some one else has worked for, that's stealing. If you want something bad enough, get it the right way. Stealing is not only a crime, it as a sin. No one needs anything that bad. That's what my children were taught.

My father-in-law always said "It doesn't matter what job you do, whether you're a banker or a ditch digger, you do the very best you can do. That's what makes a man." or woman in todays society.

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