Abstract
This qualitative study examines the question, “How do parents teach their children about work?” The sample included 90 emerging adult “children” (between 18 and 30 years old), 17 parents, and eight grandparents. It spanned two generations in eleven families, and three generations in five families. Altogether the sample totaled (N = 115). Analyses revealed three major methods for teaching children about work: (1) implementing household chores and allowances, (2) facilitating paid employment, and (3) encouraging entrepreneurial experiences. Through each of these methods, children were taught valuable financial principles. Entrepreneurial experiences specifically taught children to work hard for money, to manage earned money via budgeting and saving, and to be independent. Implications for parents, educators, therapists, and policy makers are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
Pseudonyms were used for all participants to protect confidentiality.
References
Alam, M., Carling, K., & Nääs, O. (2015). The program and treatment effect of summer jobs on girls’ post-schooling incomes. Evaluation Review, 39(3), 339–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/0193841X15571128.
Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55(5), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.5.469.
Ayala, J. C., & Manzano, G. (2014). The resilience of the entrepreneur—Influence on the success of the business: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Economic Psychology, 42, 126–135. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2014.02.004.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1986). Ecology of the family as a context for human development: Research perspectives. Developmental Psychology, 22, 723–742. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.22.6.723.
Cemalcilar, Z., Secinti, E., & Sumer, N. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of work values: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(8), 1559–1579. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0858-x.
Chowa, G. N., & Despard, M. R. (2014). The influence of parental financial socialization on youth’s financial behavior: Evidence from Ghana. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 35(3), 376–389. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-013-9377-9.
Clarke, M., Heaton, M., Israelsen, C., & Eggett, D. (2005). The acquisition of family financial roles and responsibilities. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 33, 321–340.
Dyer, G. W., & Handler, W. (1994). Entrepreneurship and family business: Exploring the connections. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 19(1), 71–83. https://doi.org/10.1177/104225879401900105.
Ergün, K. (2018). Financial literacy among university students: A study in eight European countries. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 42(1), 2–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12408.
Furnham, A. (1999). Economic socialization: A study of adults’ perceptions and uses of allowances (pocket money) to educate children. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 17, 585–604. https://doi.org/10.1348/026151099165492.
Furnham, A. (2001). Parental attitudes to pocket money/allowances for children. Journal of Economic Psychology, 22(3), 397–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-4870(01)00040-X.
Furnham, A., & Milner, R. (2017). Parent’s beliefs and behaviours about the economic socialisation, through allowances/pocket money, of their children. Psychology, 8(8), 1216–1228. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2017.88078.
Gilbert, D. (2006). Stumbling on happiness. New York: Viking.
Graves, J. M., Mackelprang, J. L., Barbosa-Leiker, C., Miller, M. E., & Li, A. Y. (2017). Quality of life among working and non-working adolescents. Quality of Life Research, 26(1), 107–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-016-1376-5.
Grinstein-Weiss, M., Spader, J., Yeo, Y. H., Taylor, A., & Books Freeze, E. (2011). Parental transfer of financial knowledge and later credit outcomes among low- and moderate-income homeowners. Children & Youth Services Review, 33, 78–85.
Grohman, A., Kouwenburg, R., & Menkhoff, L. (2015). Childhood roots of financial literacy. Journal of Economic Psychology, 52, 114–133.
Gudmunson, C. G., & Danes, S. M. (2011). Family financial socialization: Theory and critical review. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 32(4), 644–667. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-011-9275-y.
Hancock, A. M., Jorgensen, B. L., & Swanson, M. S. (2013). College students and credit card use: The role of parents, work experience, financial knowledge, and credit card attitudes. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 34(4), 369–381.
Handel, G. (1996). Family worlds and qualitative family research: Emergence and prospects of whole-family methodology. Marriage and Family Review, 24, 335–348. https://doi.org/10.1300/J002v24n03_06.
Hibbert, J. R., Beutler, I. F., & Martin, T. (2004). Financial prudence and next generation financial strain. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 15, 51–59.
Jokinen-Gordon, H. (2012). Still penalized? Parity, age at first birth and women’s income in later life. Journal of Women & Aging, 24(3), 227–241. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2012.639671.
Jorgensen, B. L., Rappleyea, D. L., Schweichler, J. T., Fang, X., & Moran, M. E. (2017). The financial behavior of emerging adults: A family financial socialization approach. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 38(1), 57–69. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-015-9481-0.
Kim, J., & Chatterjee, S. (2013). Childhood financial socialization and young adults’ financial management. Journal of Financial Counseling and Planning, 24(1), 61–79.
Krueger, N. F., Jr. (1993). “Growing up entrepreneurial?”: Developmental consequences of early exposure to entrepreneurship. Academy of Management Best Papers Proceedings. https://doi.org/10.5465/ambpp.1993.10315290.
LeBaron, A. B., Hill, E. J., Rosa, C. M., & Marks, L. D. (2018). Whats and hows of family financial socialization: Retrospective reports of emerging adults, parents, and grandparents. Family Relations, 67(4), 497–509. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12335.
LeBaron, A. B., Runyan, S. D., Jorgensen, B. L., Marks, L. D., Li, X., & Hill, E. J. (2019). Practice makes perfect: Experiential learning as a method for financial socialization. Journal of Family Issues, 40(4), 435–463. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X18812917.
Leos-Urbel, J. (2014). What is a summer job worth? The impact of summer youth employment on academic outcomes. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 33(4), 891–911. https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.21780.
Lindquist, M. J., Sol, J., & Van Praag, M. (2015). Why do entrepreneurial parents have entrepreneurial children? Journal of Labor Economics, 33(2), 269–296. https://doi.org/10.1086/678493.
Lusardi, A., Mitchell, O. S., & Curto, V. (2010). Financial literacy among the young. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 44, 358–380.
Maldonado, L. C., & Nieuwenhuis, R. (2015). Family policies and single parent poverty in 18 OECD countries, 1978–2008. Community, Work & Family, 18(4), 395–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/13668803.2015.1080661.
Malone, K., Stewart, S. D., Wilson, J., & Korsching, P. F. (2010). Perceptions of financial well-being among American women in diverse families. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 31(1), 63–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-009-9176-5.
Marks, L. (2015). A pragmatic, step-by-step guide for qualitative methods: Capturing the disaster and long term recovery stories of Katrina and Rita. Current Psychology, 34, 494–505. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-015-9342-x.
Marks, L. D., Rosa, C. M., LeBaron, A. B., & Hill, E. J. (2019). “It takes a village to raise a rigorous qualitative project”: Studying family financial socialization using team-based qualitative methods. SAGE Research Methods Cases, London: SAGE.
Marshall, H. R., & Magruder, L. (1960). Relations between parent money education practices and children’s knowledge and use of money. Child Development, 31(2), 253–284.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-a). Hardworking. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardworking.
Merriam-Webster. (n.d.-b). Work. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved June 16, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/work.
Monahan, K. C., Lee, J. M., & Steinburg, L. (2011). Revisiting the impact of part-time work on adolescent adjustment: Distinguishing between selection and socialization using propensity score matching. Child Development, 82(1), 96–112. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01543.x.
Moreno-Herrero, D., Salas-Velasco, M., & Sánchez-Campillo, J. (2018). Factors that influence the level of financial literacy among young people: The role of parental engagement and students’ experiences with money matters. Children and Youth Services Review, 95, 334–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.10.042.
Mortimer, J. T. (2010). The benefits and risks of adolescent employment. The Prevention Researcher, 17(2), 8–11.
Mortimer, J. T. (2003). Working and growing up in America. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Nelson, L. J., & Barry, C. M. (2005). Distinguishing features of emerging adulthood: The role of self-classification as an adult. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20(2), 242–262.
Norvilitis, J. M., & MacLean, M. G. (2010). The role of parents in college students’ financial behaviors and attitudes. Journal of Economic Psychology, 31(1), 55–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2009.10.003.
Painter, M. A., II. (2013). Immigrant and native financial well-being: The roles of place of education and race/ethnicity. Social Science Research, 42(5), 1375–1389. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2013.04.001.
Paço, A. D., & Palinhas, M. J. (2011). Teaching entrepreneurship to children: a case study. Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 63(4), 593–608. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820.2011.609317.
Pinto, M. B., Parente, D. H., & Mansfield, P. M. (2005). Information learned from socialization agents: Its relationship to credit card use. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 33(4), 357–367. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077727X04274113.
Roberts, K., & Wensley, R. (1997). Explaining Success–Hard Work, Not Illusion. Rejoinder. Business Strategy Review, 8(2), 75–77.
Serido, J., Curran, M. J., Wilmarth, M., Ahn, S. Y., Shim, S., & Ballard, J. (2015). The unique role of parents and romantic partners on college students’ financial attitudes and behaviors. Family Relations, 64(5), 696–710. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12164.
Shim, S., Barber, B. L., Card, N. A., Xiao, J. J., & Serido, J. (2010). Financial socialization of first-year college students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39, 1457–1470.
Shim, S., Serido, J., Tang, C., & Card, N. (2015). Socialization processes and pathways to healthy financial development for emerging young adults. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 38, 29–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2015.01.002.
Staff, J., Messersmith, E. E., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2009). Adolescents and the world of work. In R. Lerner & L. Steinberg (Eds.), Handbook of adolescent psychology (3rd ed., pp. 270–313). New York: Wiley.
Strauss, A., & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Studdard, N. L., Dawson, M., & Jackson, N. L. (2013). Fostering entrepreneurship and building entrepreneurial self-efficacy in primary and secondary education. Creative & Knowledge Society, 3(2), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10212-011-0033-1.
Webley, P., & Nyhus, E. K. (2013). Economic socialization, saving and assets in European young adults. Economics of Education Review, 33, 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econedurev.2012.09.001.
Webley, P., & Nyhus, E. K. (2006). Parents’ influence on children’s future orientation and saving. Journal of Economic Psychology, 27(1), 140–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2005.06.016.
West, A., Lewis, J., Roberts, J., & Noden, P. (2017). Young adult graduates living in the parental home: Expectations, negotiations, and parental financial support. Journal of Family Issues, 38, 2449–2473. https://doi.org/10.1177/0192513X16643745.
White, E. M., DeBoer, M. D., & Scharf, R. J. (2019). Associations between household chores and childhood self-competency. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 40(3), 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000637.
Xiao, J. J., Chatterjee, S., & Kim, J. (2014). Factors associated with financial independence of young adults. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 38(4), 394–403.
Xiao, J. J., Ford, M. W., & Kim, J. (2011). Consumer financial behavior: An interdisciplinary review of selected theories and research. Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal, 39(4), 399–414. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1552-3934.2011.02078.x.
Acknowledgements
Both Joshua E. Timmons and Elisabeth R. Kirchner should be acknowledged for equal contribution to the paper. We additionally acknowledge and thank Maria Anderson, McKay Boyack, and Stephanie Richardson for their help in the completion of this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
The study completed was approved by the appropriate institutional research ethics committee. All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Research Involving Human Participants and/or Animals
This article does not contain any studies with animals performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Loderup, C.L., Timmons, J.E., Kimball, E.R. et al. How Do Parents Teach Their Children About Work? A Qualitative Exploration of Household Chores, Employment, and Entrepreneurial Experiences. J Fam Econ Iss 42, 73–89 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09709-5
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10834-020-09709-5