So this past Saturday, several parents of our booster club were at the Chinese New Year Festival trying to grab people's attention with a cake walk and delicous looking treats.  The adults were willing to buy the goodies but not do the requisite walk to music for the chance to win and the eventual landing on the right square when the music stopped.  So we dispensed with the Cake Walk idea and just started selling a la Bakesale style.  When our 300+ treats weren't moving fast enough, we suggested that our 8 - 12 year olds start walking around with a tray of treats to sell. 

I turned to one of the dads and said "teaching entrepreneurism?"  He responded "No,  panhandling!" 

I am a complete advocate for teaching kids both the value of money and their time, the value of my money and time, and how to approach people.  I've told my daughter to keep her feet off the back of the car seats because someday she'll be driving the family car.  She grumbled and said that she wanted her own car - a black convertible with a red and orange flames motif.  I told her that she could buy her own car or use the family car, but either way, expect to work to pay for the gas.   

At Christmas time, when she didn't get an iPod, she pooled all of her gift cards and traded them in (to Bank of Mom) for enough money in one store to buy the pink one she wanted.  And yesterday, she offered to pay the tuition for her hip hop exercise class.  She's not all that grown up yet.  At age ten, she still believes that all clothes should be free and that I should get at least $100 a month for my full-time corporate job, I'm that good!

She doesn't need help approaching people. But as far as I'm concerned, the panhandling skill of knowing what you want and asking for it is a business and a life skill.  You can't do it all yourself.   Asking for help is the flip side of Pay it Forward.