I worked extra weekends to afford my 13-year-old daughter Mia the summer camp she had dreamed about for years.<\/p>\n
When I picked her up after three weeks, the director pulled me aside and showed me a chore chart filled with Mia\u2019s name.<\/p>\n
She had been doing other campers\u2019 chores\u2014and even giving up activities she loved to help them.<\/strong><\/p>\n Then the director told me about Trail Day, when Mia gave away the horseback-riding spot she had waited years for just because another girl missed registration.<\/p>\n The truth broke my heart.<\/p>\n Since losing her father, Mia had watched me struggle financially and convinced herself that everything I spent on her created a debt she had to repay.<\/p>\n The camp director wasn\u2019t banning her.<\/p>\n Instead, the camp created a new policy called \u201cThe Mia Rule\u201d<\/strong>: campers had to experience their own opportunities before giving them away.<\/p>\n Months later, I saw Mia put back her favorite cereal because it cost $6.<\/p>\n I put it back in the cart.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t have to earn every good thing that comes your way,\u201d I told her.<\/strong><\/p>\n Sometimes, the hardest lesson isn\u2019t learning how to give.<\/p>\n It\u2019s learning that you\u2019re allowed to receive, too.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I worked extra weekends to afford my 13-year-old daughter Mia the summer camp she had dreamed about for years. When I picked her up after three weeks, the director pulled me aside and showed me a chore chart filled with Mia\u2019s name. She had been doing other campers\u2019 chores\u2014and even giving up activities she loved…<\/p>\n