A Mom Creates Household Jobs and Makes Kids Apply to Earn Pocket Money, and We Should All Take Notes

A single mom from Georgia, Shaketha Marion McGregor, means business. Instead of just giving her 3 kids pocket money, she created her own “company” at home, hiring her kids with job applications and interviews. Giving kids actual job titles and duties not only turned out to be effective, but also amazed 216k Facebook users and became an example for other families.

Here at Bright Side we’re sure that sharing ideas is a great tool, especially when it comes to parenting. So let’s all grab our pencils and take notes!

After losing a lot of things in a house fire, it was challenging to give her kids pocket money and things they asked for.

Being a single parent with 3 kids is not an easy task. When it comes to family finances, on one hand it requires strict counting, on the other hand it’s important to teach children the value of money and how finances work. That’s when Shaketha decided that, now, getting pocket money won’t be as easy for her kids — Jahkeem (14), Takeia (11), and Serinity (7) — as just nagging her for it.

One day the kids came home to see a job fair.

McGregor shared that after her kids started asking for new phones and allowance, she answered them saying that she’d heard their requests and that there would be a surprise for them tomorrow, when they got back from school. There was a surprise indeed, the kids came home to a job fair, with job listings, applications, and even “Mom’s Credit Union.”

Of course, the kids were doing chores around the house even before they got hired, according to Shaketha, but they would argue about who would do what. Now that they have particular job descriptions, that won’t be a problem anymore.

McGregor shared the idea with her Facebook friends Tuesday and it went viral with more than 130k shares.

The applicants were her 2 kids: Jahkeem, Takeia, and Serinity. McGregor really held interviews with her kids for the vacant positions and gave her “new workers” new-hire packets. Shaketha shared that the job interviews went well, except for a few giggles here and there. But, surprisingly, her youngest was the most professional.

Her son, on the other hand, made Shaketha laugh a lot, giggling and asking questions like “How much do I get paid? How often do I get paid? And do I have to pay taxes?”

Things even turned competitive!

McGregor shared that she had to reject Jahkeem for a job that went to his little sister Serinity. The mom says she was very impressed with her application and the job interview, but Jahkeem still had an opportunity to be the Kitchen Manager. And since that position was available, they could negotiate a higher pay if he was willing to accept the role.

At the end of the first month, the kids eagerly awaited their first paycheck. In addition to discipline, this method can also be helpful in the future — when the kids will have to apply to get into college or for a new job, they can look back and say that they did it with mom already. This mom also hopes her viral post will help families see that education starts at home and doesn’t have to be boring at all.

How do you teach your kids the value of money and hard work? We’d be happy to see your comments in the section below!