Save and Conquer

Discipline can mean several things all revolving around behavior and training. Our son did something bad today that amounted to great monetary expense that affected quite a few people and one person in particular.

My wife and I do not use physical punishment. We do believe, however, in strong discipline. Besides having him recognize that he made a very poor choice and addressing his wrong with the people he affected, we are wondering what sort of monetary punishment we should use?

If we make him pay the total expense, it will take a big chunk of his existing savings, but he won’t really notice it much. If he doesn’t pay anything, he will lump this in with other times that he has made poor decisions, and then forget it. The trouble I have with making him pay money is that he does not have many uses for money other than to buy toys. Of course we provide all his necessities, and well as most of his non-necessities.

What will probably have the most impact, now that he has written an apology and talked to the person he wronged, will be to make him work off his debt. Besides his normal chores, he is going to have to work for the person who’s property he ruined until he does equivalent value work. (We obviously will pay the person replacement value up front, and then he will do work as repayment at this other person’s house.) Ugh!

Stumble it!