Mother buys a £100 second-hand vending machine and makes her four children use pocket money earned through chores to pay for their snacks in a bid to cut down on junk food
- Sarah Balsdon, 29, from Northumberland, paid £100 for an old vending machine
- Mother-of-four makes her children use their pocket money for their snacks
- The 29-year-old rewards her kids with cash when they help around the house
A mother has revealed how she makes her children use their own pocket money to pay for their favourite junk food from a second-hand vending machine in her home.
Sarah Balsdon, 29, from Ashington, Northumberland, spent £100 on the second-hand unit as a last resort for getting Shannon, 9, Lucy, 8, Jack, 5 and Elijah, 2, to complete their chores and school work during the UK’s lockdown.
The nurse explained how the children are given cash to spend on the vending machine – which is filled with chocolate, sweets and crisps – when they complete a chore around the house or finish their school work.
Sarah admitted her children thought it was ‘mean’ at first, saying: ‘The healthy snacks are all free but this way they will have to do jobs and school work to earn money to buy sweets from the vending machine.’
Sarah Balsdon, 29, from Ashington, Northumberland, spent £100 on a vending machine and charges her children for their favourite junk food from the device (pictured, Shannon, 9, Lucy, 8, Jack, 5 and Elijah, 2,)
Sarah and her husband Kyle, 29, had been at a loose end after their children, with the youngsters refusing to help around the house.
Sarah said: ‘During lockdown, the kids have been wanting sweet stuff all the time and they have been refusing to help around the house.’
She and Kyle came up with a creative idea to get them all on board with completing their chores.
To Sarah’s delight, her youngsters have been enjoying saving up their pocket money and using the vending machine to collect their favourite treat after a day of school work and chores.
Sarah (pictured with her husband Kyle, 29, and their four children) bought the second-hand unit as a last resort for getting her four youngsters to complete their chores and school work during the UK’s lockdown
The kids now often help with tidying their bedrooms, unloading the dishwasher, dusting and leaving the old milk bottles outside for the milk man to collect.
Sarah explained: ‘The healthy snacks are all free but this way they will have to do jobs and school work to earn money to buy sweets from the vending machine.
‘At first, they thought it was really mean but now they loved it. They’ve made me put mine and my husband’s stuff in there as well!’
She added: ‘I was sick of the arguments about unhealthy snacks so hopefully this will encourage them to work for them.
The nurse explained how the children (pictured, Shannon, 9, Lucy, 8, Jack, 5 and Elijah, 2,) are given cash to spend on the vending machine – which is filled with chocolate, sweets and crisps – when they complete a chore around the house or finish their school work
While the vending machine is packed full of crisps and chocolate, healthy snacks have remained free
‘It has encouraged them to start doing chores, but I don’t know how long it will continue.’
Meanwhile she went on to reveal how she had struggled with child care during the pandemic.
She added: ‘With the kids being off school, it has been really difficult with child care.
‘I’ve been at work the whole time and my husband was furloughed for six weeks but now he’s back at work. The girls have gone back to school for child care’.