Expense Account, Mint
Regulating junk food, TV hours, time on the Internet and phone are parent bugbears. Parenting experts talk about starting small and not using either size or presence to regulate. Because the parent is larger, it tends to use the advantage of size to get the kid to follow rules. And because the parent will police or catch it doing what it is not supposed to, the kid will use the hours without the parent to break the rules. We all did and so will they. But both size and presence have downsides. Size is a transient advantage and, at some point, the knee-high will grow and look you in the eye. And they grow very fast these days. And this stock is taller too. Policing is costly in terms of time, effort and family happiness. What seems to work are broad guidelines with very clear rules. Defined outcomes—if this, then that—and an implementation of the rules with a benevolent eye on a one-off blowout. Then policing reduces from moment to moment to occasional footprint checks.