Say you became super rich. Would you still make your kids work?

[TakerFoxx]

So, I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that most people here are, like me, part of the working class. Most of us have blue-collar jobs, must work for what we have, do lots of budgeting and live fairly modest lives.

But say that one day, that all changed. Maybe you struck oil in your backyard. Maybe you won the lottery and invested wisely. Maybe you wrote a bestseller. Hell, maybe you just built a better mousetrap. Whatever the method, you suddenly found yourself rocketed into great amounts of wealth.

So, my question is for those whose have/are planning to have kids who aren't already adults with lives of their own. Even though they're going to grow up with the wealth you didn't have, will you still make them earn their way when they come of age, or provide them with everything you didn't have?

Speaking for myself, though I'll pay for their education and whatnot, I definitely would still make them get jobs, even minimum wage ones. Money issues aside, I think working blue-collar jobs at an early age is very important, as it helps built character, teaches empathy, and helps them learn the value of a dollar, so that when the time comes for them to receive their inheritance they'll have learned the skills necessary to use it wisely. What would you do though?

 

[Saelune]

No. Unless they became dicks, then make them work retail, cause fuck retail. But if they can understand that people are well, people, then I wont torture them. I'd encourage them to do something with their time though, a passion to work on, and not just have them be entitled layabouts.

Edit: I bet many of you are lying to sound responsible.

 

[Sonmi]

Of course.

Living without work leads to ennui, and I wouldn't want my kids turning dead inside.

Give them enough so that they can do something, but not so much that they could nothing.

 

[stormtrooper9091]

Kids? What kids, who gives a shit man I'm super rich

seriously now, considering how lenient I am (and always end up) with my sister, they would probably be pandered to death and I'd just about ruin the lives of everyone who my kids would point at.

I'm horrible

 

[Wintermute_v1legacy]

I'm pretty sure I would continue to work, so why shouldn't they?

 

[Mr.Mattress]

I mean, I guess it depends on the kids. I know that if I became Rich I would only be doing 'work' I'd want to do (like, say, running an Animation Studio). I wouldn't force my kids to take up jobs flipping patties at Burger King, I can tell you that. I'd certainly pay for them to go to College, though.

 

[NPC009]

I'd encourage them to work, but it wouldn't necessarily have to be something they're paid for. If they want to work somewhere as a volunteer (and I mean actually work, not the type of volunteering mostly exists to make the volunteers feel good about themselves), that's fine too. But, if they have something they're passionate about and take very seriously, that'd be fine with me to. Just... try to do something useful/meaningful with your time, you know?

Unless the kid is turning into a disrespectful little shit who thinks they can get away with anything just because mommy and daddy have money. That kid should work to earn their spending money. Regular work, like retail. I mean, sure, I'd still pay for basic neccessities (school stuff and the like), but any extras they'd have to earn themselves. Mommy isn't going to pay for brandname sneakers or whatever they think they 'need'.

 

[Scarim Coral]

While I would pay for the school and trip equipment but other than that I would be kinda strict on what they want to buy when they're kids. They gotta learn they can't have anything they want just cos daddy got the money. Granted I would splash it out every now and then so I'm not too cruel (no I'm not using it as a reward as that would be a bad system).

I would have the same attitude with jobs aswell like help paid for the travel fare or clothing but they still got to earn the job the right way. Granted if I became rich and own a company, if he/ she/ they insist on wanting to work in my company, they won't get an easy penpushing position. He/ she/ they would start at the bottom to earn their way up and I would treat them as coworkers (I don't take thing personal when it come to works).

Lastly, on the last will. That probably only when I relinquish whatever left of my money. Granted they won't get all of it, maybe like 30-50% depending what's left and it will be spread across my families and the remains will go to charity.

 

[Zontar]

Hell yes I would, no brat of mine is going to grow up without learning the value of a dollar and what it means to earn that. Both my mother and father's families do this and we've turned out the better for it. I may be paying for their education but like hell are they getting a fancy sports car to show off unless they make that money themselves.

 

[FalloutJack]

"I'm gonna have to ask that you keep busy somehow."

"Why?"

"Builds character."

"Seriously? You're making a reference to Calvin's dad?"

"Yup!"

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Yes, for so many reasons.

As many have already pointed out, I don't want my kids becoming self-entitled brats. You're going to work because it's going to help you build character and understand how the real world works, how normal people have to live their lives and balance fun with expenses. Heck, if I ruled the world, I would require everyone to work at least one year in fast food or retail, because there are some people that I deal with that simply do not get it.

Second, it will help them make friends. Real friends, who want to hang out with them because they are them, not because they're rich. In fact, I would probably tell my kids, "Don't mention our money at all when you first meet people."

Third, I don't want to be embarrassed. I don't want to turn on the TV, or read the paper, or see something on the internet about how my kid said something so out of touch, so stupid, that I want to smack him. I don't want my kid to become a laughing stock, or despised by the country, simply because they have money and thus think they live in a different world than the rest of us.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Absolutely. No trust funds for them, they'll have to earn their shit.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

Absolutely. I'd want them to learn the value of an honest day's work for a hopefully honest day's pay. That's not to say I wouldn't help them out with money if they needed it, but they need to stay grounded in the world that most people inhabit and not the privileged few.

 

[Silent Protagonist]

The quote I've heard is " Give your kids enough so that they can do anything, but not so much that they can do nothing."

Seems like good advice to me.

 

[The Rogue Wolf]

I'd go so far as to make their sole benefit from my wealth a guaranteed higher education for them, and maybe a "fallback fund" if things go completely terrible for them (like, say, an accident leaves them unable to work), and a fund that they can access only if they dedicate themselves to volunteer charity work.

 

[DEAD34345]

Nope. I don't think there's any inherent value in work for it's own sake. I'd certainly stop working myself if I had the money, so it'd be hypocritical to force my kids into it.

Do any of you have any kind of evidence that working at a job "builds character" better than anything else they could be doing with their life? It seems obviously untrue to me.

If money is no problem, those kids could be travelling across the globe, meeting people from different cultures and witnessing the breadth of what the world has to offer. Or they could be flipping burgers. Somehow I think they'd learn more from the first experience.

Jobs are just shit, you can tell because otherwise people wouldn't have to be paid to do them.

 

[Mahorfeus]

I'd give them each a small loan of a million dollars. If they don't manage to turn a profit from it within a year, then it's off to the orphanage with them.

 

[Neurotic Void Melody]

They don't have to know I'm rich. Plus my underground caverns of eternal torment need some serious expansion lately to compete with that Austrian fellow who thinks he's so much better at these projects than me. I'll send them down there so they can learn the true value of daylight and a good night's rest. Suffering builds the character, I say! And dark grime builds the immune system. I may need to initiate some back-up kids in case the original prototypes fail on me like they always seem to do. And they had better not join the damn union if they want feeding too!
Then...then the experiments can begin...

 

[Riddle78]

Yup. Money can't buy discipline. Wealth can't buy appreciation for money. And,most certainly,Daddy's Money can't buy independence. Have 'em work a day job,and make DAMN sure they don't play the "My Rich Dad" card,and they'll grow up to be well adjusted and functional. If all else fails,the Canadian Armed Forces is always looking for recruits,if they can't land a more conventional job.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Ayep.

Like the OP I'd provide the education fund, but nothing makes you respect other working people quite like the abuse and stress you take in customer service jobs. I believe everyone should experience a year or so in a fast-food restaurant or retail store, so that they know what it's like.

Besides, money so easily earned can be just as easily taken away. You could get hacked. You could get scammed. The government could raise taxes to 70%. Then where would they be?

I'd give them each a small loan of a million dollars. If they don't manage to turn a profit from it within a year, then it's off to the orphanage with them.

Problem is then they get bitter, exceed your expectations, turn a big enough profit off that to bribe your board of directors and steal your company from you somehow. But don't worry, you'll get your virtual revenge in ten years or so... maybe.