What should I tell my child about losing my job when he offers to pay our bills?
ParentingMy ten-year-old put $19 in an envelope marked "house money." He had heard me say that without my job we would have to cut everything back.
I meant canceling a holiday and reviewing what we spend. He thought it included his school lunches. When I told him to keep his savings, he asked whether being helpful only counted when the problem was small.
My partner wants us to say everything is fine. It isn't fine in the sense that we know what next month will look like. We are making a plan, and there are adults we can talk to, but I can't promise I'll have a new job by a particular date.
I also don't want every ordinary request from him followed by "Can we still afford this?" What would you tell him now, and what changes should we explain before he discovers them through canceled plans? I need to correct what he understood without handing him the job of reassuring me.