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.