I'll just say it: I bribed my daughter to pay her tithing.
Here's how it happened: We were getting ready to go to tithing settlement (a meeting where we sit down with our bishop and tell him whether or not we paid a complete 10% tithe of our income during the year--a prerequisite to attending the temple). We we were getting ready to go with our kids they wondered what on earth we were getting dressed up in church clothes on a Saturday for. We reminded them what tithing was and how Heavenly Father has blessed us with everything that we have and all he asks is that we give him 10% back. We told them that we pay tithing on all the money Mommy and Daddy earn (which isn't much... but back to the story.
This is when the problem started.
Maggie put her chest out and defiantly shouted, "You and Daddy can do that but I won't give Heavenly Father any of my money--I'm saving up for a Wuggle Pet!"
[Side note: Wuggle Pets are cute little stuffed animals created by an evil company that puts their commercials on every other second while Maggie is watching the Magic School Bus on tv making her think that without this little animal that she can bring to life by adding stuffing and sparkles her life is lacking in splendor.]
Well, I don't think its imperative that the 5 and under crowd pay tithing on all the pennies in their piggy banks, though I would certainly support it. But I do have a problem with my child being so greedy with the pennies in her piggy bank that she is bragging about not sharing with God.
So we sat down and talked about it. She screamed and stomped and threw a royal fit, which is basically the way she deals with anything not in her personal agenda. But when she finally listened to me explaining that everything in the world belongs to Heavenly Father and that for every 10 pennies we have, he just wants one, her little heart started to soften. We counted up her money and took out the $.24 that would be tithing, and then I told her that if we help Heavenly Father, he promises to help us.
That's when the bribe just popped out of my mouth. I said, "If you pay your tithing, then I will help you buy a Wuggle Pet." And I did. And when we stuffed it full of stuffing and sparkles, I'll admit it did bring some splendor into our lives.
Is that horrible?
8 comments:
nah, its like that short film about the dad helping the kid buy a bike...after all you do...i'll do the rest. don't you hate that qubo has so many infomercials "mom! you have to come see this!!"
So, was it worth it? Clara wants one, but it looks like a stuffed animal from the dollar store. She might get one from Santa, but I'm not seeing the splendor.
No, it isn't horrible. We only make our girls pay tithing on tooth fairy money right now. They don't get anything else at the moment. Kendra will soon be at where I want her to pay more tithing, (I'll take her to the bank and pull out tithing from what we have saved there.) Abbie still has to loose a tooth.
What you just tried to teach your little one was about how Heavenly Father helps us. It would take her awhile to save for that wuggle pet. Now to the fun teach about tithing every time she gets paid. I think it is a hard concept for little ones. Some day she will get it.
Actually, I think that leaving her with a sparkly feeling about tithing is probably a very wise thing.
No, that's not horrible at all. It shows how important it is to you, it helped her understand, and it shows that you get blessings from it (because at 4 years old "blessings"=Wuggle Pet). I think it's a good idea.
i love it! Good for you...
Not horrible! Awesome :)
You are so funny!
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