Specifying the details
After a heavy storm, many light branches and sticks littered our yard and street. My wife and I gave our youngest son an opportunity: ten cents per stick. A simple chore, a little lesson in labor and earning.
Turns out, the parents were the ones who were going to be learning.
After collecting what he determined to be $20 worth of sticks, we realized there were some details that should have been clarified from the start:
You can’t break sticks in half to double their value.
You can’t collect sticks from other people’s yards.
You can’t collect sticks from down the street.
We’re not considering 2-inch twigs “sticks”. (Though we resolved that five twigs shorter than 6-inches would be valued as one full stick.)
The final payment hasn’t been made; the various parties and representatives are still in negotiations.
Our lesson in employment turned out to be a lesson in contracts, terms, and conditions.
With a ten-year-old.
Details matter.