I recently had so much fun with my 11-year old niece. My family was over her home to celebrate a birthday and when we arrived I immediately noticed how amazing her fingernails looked. She had adorable pink flowers painted on a beautifully polished light green background. “Where did you get those decals for your nails?” I asked her. She told me that they weren’t decals but rather nail polish she painted on. Yes, she’s 11-years old, I thought to myself, but I too must have those nails! The next thing I knew, I was being pampered by her and thought to myself that this is actually better than being in a nail salon. Ten minutes later and I was as giddy as a child showing off my perfectly painted flower nails.
I wanted to show my niece how much I appreciated her hard work and took out a few dollars to give her a tip. Her face lit up and I told her that she totally deserved it. In fact, I began planting the seed that she should consider starting her own little business. But that’s for another lesson. Now back to tipping!
It’s the holiday season and many of us are preparing tips for all those who provided a service to us throughout the year. You would think tipping is an easy concept, but, it can often be confusing. Who should we tip? How much should we tip? Therefore, let’s start molding our little ones into courteous human beings now and teach them when it is and isn’t appropriate to tip.
Children may perceive tipping as giving money to someone who does something nice for them or does something that makes them happy. Therefore, a child may want to give money to a friend or a teacher. Not appropriate. We must explain that yes, the person might be nice, but we tip certain people because they provide a service and they do it well.
Kids have to be taught. In fact, my husband always tells the story of when he was a kid and walked out of a restaurant with a bunch of bills. When his father asked where he got the money, he said he found it on all of the tables! It was of course returned.
I personally think the concept of tipping is best explained in practice. I recently took my son for a haircut and before we left I gave him $5 to give the hairdresser. I explained that we are giving her a little extra money to say thank you for the great haircut. I also make it a point to have my son give the food delivery man a couple of dollars before he leaves our home.
It’s often difficult weaving through the maze of tipping etiquette, but, let’s all try to share our knowledge with our children during and after the holiday season.
Want to take this lesson further? Give us your email and receive a free download to a story that you can read with your child called “Bode and Leo Perform Some Tipping Magic,” educate yourself even more on how to explain tipping to kids and share a fun activity called “Bode and Leo’s Holiday Adventure.”
