PKTMNY is a great new website aimed at parents who would like to help their children gain a bit more independence and understanding of money, by allowing them to earn and save through a system set by parents.
It's a difficult question at this time of year, as I suspect most children are waiting for Santa to hand them a bunch of presents on a plate (or more likely, in a sack, ho ho ho!!), but I thought I'd take the challenge and ask Tamsin what she would really like to spend her pocket money on.
Having managed somehow to bring up one very materialistic young girl (love shopping, moi?!), I didn't hold out much hope for a sensible answer. A meet and greet with One Direction maybe? An ipod Touch?
Well, wow. I have just been blown away by her answer. I am not kidding, this was her response:
'Well, there's two things mummy. First,' (she said, without missing a beat), 'I'd like to buy food for the poor.'
It's not often I'm speechless. Anyone who knows Tamsin will realise that is not the first answer they would have expected, and I am definitely NOT that sort of mum who bangs on to my children about them having too much and others having nothing (although maybe I should be, it's not that I'm proud of that...).
So now I feel terribly guilty that I swayed towards thinking my own darling daughter would show signs of greed. The truth is I probably would have given a much more selfish answer myself. Funnily enough I did go through a period in my own life saying 'world peace' was what I wished for - until I was old enough to realise that was never going to happen of course.
'Second.... err.... err....' (lots more deliberating and forgetting what number two she'd intended to say) 'I'd pay for me to go to private school.'
Private school is a funny thing for someone so young to wish for I think. We did have a conversation about it a month or so ago, where Tamsin asked what 'private' school was, and my best answer was that the class sizes were smaller so less children and more teacher to go round. I'm not sure if that was the main appeal.... but I'd have to stick my neck out here and say that it's *possibly* because the older brother of her favourite boy in the class has just gone to a private school this year. Maybe she's twigged his brother will follow and so she wants to be there too. I haven't the heart to point out it's an all boys' school....
