We're a multinational family: the Mister's from Europe, I'm Canadian, and one of our kids was born in the United States where we now live. So in addition to having more citizenships and passports than you can shake a stick at, we also have a transnational mentality of entitlement and diplomatic negotiation.

As in, "if you say no to us, we'll just ask that other country and they'll probably say yes."  (Otherwise known as the Go Ask Grandma Maneuver)

It's served us well in the past, but now it's coming back to bite us in our collective heinies.

I once mentioned that we don't parent by The Book.  The Book says to give children a small, age-appropriate allowance and teach them how to manage their own money.  When aforementioned Book was quoted by eldest child in her quest to buy a Nintendo DSi, Daddy said "no".

So she asked Mommy who said "yes"--with the caveat that instead of an allowance, she'd be working for her wages.  (Daddy finally agreed with my wisdom when I pointed out that all other attempts to get those rascals to tidy their rooms had failed spectacularly.)

This is how our Saturday mornings go down then: a list of available jobs is posted with their corresponding monetary values (calculated using a highly scientific method of tapping thoughtfully on my chin and then pulling a random number out of the air that ends in the word "cents").  The kids gather around, and after some negotiation and review assign themselves 5 tasks each. 

It all feels so American and democratic and capitalistic and perfect.  You know: Life, Liberty... all that good stuff.

But when Mommy comes home from a long day of errands and asks for help unloading the groceries, the last thing she wants to hear is: "What are you going to give me for it?"

Back in the olden days the answer would have been "a swift kick in the rear, my dear," but apparently it's frowned upon to say such things in the 21st century.

Thus begins a series of negotiations to find the lowest bidder among my three opportunistic offspring.  Cash only - a hug and kiss from Mommy is not legal tender 'round these parts.

These future Donald Trumps have even mastered wage negotiation.  They understand bonuses, cost of living increases, and fair market compensation.  I never realized having a kid in the smartie-pants math class would be a problem until Economics Week.

Thank goodness for this rotten economy, otherwise my squad of child laborers might take their talents to another employer.

Parents: do you give allowances, pay for chores, or leave cash out of the equation entirely?