Allowances, Apologies, and Being “Good Enough” in Parenting
This worksheet is designed to help parents implement a task-centred approach to allowances, guide their children in understanding and making meaningful apologies, and reflect on what it means to be “good enough” as a parent. Use the progress tracking section to monitor how these strategies are working in your home.
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Part 1: Allowances
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Step 1: Set Clear Expectations for Allowance
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• Define specific tasks for which children will receive their allowance.
• Use the age-appropriate tasks guide to create chore lists for each child.
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Step 2: Teach Budgeting with Allowances
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• Help your child divide their weekly allowance into three categories: Spend, Save, Donate.
• Track how they allocate their money weekly.
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Reflection:
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• How did your child manage their money this week?
• Are they learning the value of saving and budgeting?
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Part 2: Apologies
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Step 1: Teach and Practice Apologies
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• When your child needs to apologise, guide them through the four-step apology process.
1. Acknowledge what they did wrong.
2. Take responsibility for their actions.
3. Offer to make amends.
4. Follow through by changing behaviour in the future
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Step 2: Model Apologies
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• Record instances when you model an apology for your child. This will teach them how adults acknowledge mistakes.
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Reflection:
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• Did your child understand why they needed to apologise?
• How did they respond after the apology?
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Part 3: What Is “Good Enough” in Parenting?
Step 1: Embrace Consistency Over Perfection
• Identify areas in your parenting where you can be consistent without aiming for perfection.
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Step 2: Let Go of Perfectionism
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• Reflect on moments where you felt the pressure to be a perfect parent. Write down what you did instead that worked well and supported your child.
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Reflection:
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• How has focusing on “good enough” parenting impacted your relationship with your child?
• Have you noticed a reduction in stress when you let go of the need for perfection?
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Progress Tracking
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Use the tables below to track your progress over the weeks. Review how well the strategies are working and adjust as needed.
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Allowance Management:
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• Track how consistent your children are with completing chores and how they are managing their allowance. Apology Progress:
• Track how well your children are learning and practising meaningful apologies. Being “Good Enough” Progress:
• Track how often you let go of perfectionism and embrace “good enough” parenting.
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Final Reflections:
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• Allowances: Are my children learning responsibility and money management through their allowances?
• Apologies: Are my children becoming more empathetic and accountable for their actions?
• Good Enough Parenting: How has embracing imperfection improved my own well-being and my child’s development?
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Let this worksheet guide you through these important areas of parenting while tracking progress to see how your child grows in responsibility, empathy, and self-management.