If you ever want your daughter to succeed in the real world on her own, you won’t give her that kind of money.
If you want to put her in a bubble that keeps her protected from reality at all times and are happy relying on luck for it never to pop, give her the money.
What you’re about to provide to your child is something known as economic outpatient care, described in detail in The Millionaire Next Door.
I’m sure you, like most affluent parents, mean well with the intent to support your daughter with the money you and your husband have made.
But what you’re actually doing is teaching her to rely on you.
$1,000/week equates to a net (!) income of $52,000/year. That’s north of $80,000 in pre-tax income. A lawyer, a doctor, a senior manager all have to work for an entire year to make this kind of money.
Imagine what you’d learn as a 13-year old, if it just landed in your lap. What would that teach you?
I don’t have to work for money.
More than half of all wealthy Americans support their children with over $15,000/year. But humans are creatures of habit, so instead of being grateful for this kind of support and trying to not need it as fast as possible, people get used to it and up their lifestyle even further.
The more economic outpatient care you provide for your daughter, the more she’ll need it in the future.
You might be wealthy enough that she’ll never have to work a day in her life – but can you guarantee it’ll stay that way? What about 10, 20, 50 years from now?
The best thing you can teach her right now is that things cost money and that you have to earn it to spend it. Help her get a job, show her how she can afford the things she wants on her own, teach her how to make, keep and grow money, not how to spend it.
She might not see it right now, but she’ll be thankful for the rest of her life once she does.
PS: If she’s ungrateful now, she won’t stop at $1,000/week when her friends get 5x that amount. Chances are you can increase her allowance to whatever amount you want and she’ll still want more.
