hey parents, whats an appropriate allowance for a 5 year old?

Question

My daughter is turning 5 next month. I want to start allowing her to earn some money once a week by cleaning her room, picking up toys, etc. I am going to encourage her to start saving, and I will certainly allow her to buy a toy after she saves up enough money or something like that. I don't know what is really a good dollar amount to earn per week for a 5 year old sweetie?

Answer 1

The way I handled giving my kids money was I put it in an account. At 5 they have no real conception of money and saving, so if you feel like she needs $5.00 a week give it to her, but not all actually to her. Give her like 1 to spend how she wishes, and put the other $4 in an account. That way, you're saving money for her to spend how she wants, and it doesn't get lost or spent on things that you'd disapprove of. We started this when our kids could start helping out, and when they wanted to do things that were fun, we'd pay for it out of that account that was building for them (like at 7 wanting to go to day camp, we took the money out of the account that had been building or a year or two, it was their money, that they had earned, and that's how they wanted to spend it, it was their choice and costed my husband and I nothing because we had already given that money to them). You'd be amazed at how fast 4/week starts to build in an account when it is left alone.

Just give her an amount that you think she can be responsible for, and won't upset you if it is lost or blown.

Answer 2

A 5 yr old gets most of what she needs and wants from you anyway. She doesn't need much to start with, but a dollar a week will buy a bit of candy or allow her to save over a couple of weeks for an inexpensive toy. It will allow her to feel big to go up to a counter and pay the clerk herself and is a good learning experience. Too much money won't be appreciated anymore at that age, because they don't understand the monetary amounts yet anyway.

If she wants something that costs too much and has been very good at doing her chores, you might offer to pay the difference so she can get something nice when you are in the store. But we all live on a budget of some type, so I wouldn't do it too often. Help her learn to save a bit and plan her purchases so she won't spend impulsively.

An allowance is a great opportunity for learning. Once she is doing well with the dollar and learned to shop well..... she will also be a little older and wiser.... you can increase it some.

Best Wishes,

Sue

Answer 3

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RE:
hey parents, whats an appropriate allowance for a 5 year old?
My daughter is turning 5 next month. I want to start allowing her to earn some money once a week by cleaning her room, picking up toys, etc. I am going to encourage her to start saving, and I will certainly allow her to buy a toy after she saves up enough money or something like that. I don't...

Answer 4

Does she need an allowance? Although it's great you're teaching her financial responsibility and what not, I hope doesn't need money to say eat lunch at school or to buy the newest Barbie doll.

Just kidding! I'd say a dollar a week is probably plenty. I don't think most 5 year olds really understand the concept of money, but perhaps I'm wrong.

Answer 5

I pay my six year old $3 a week. But we take away dollars if she has to be told anything repeatedly (and add a dollar at the end of the week if she was a spectacular listener). I think it is really better to think about your budget. Your child will learn the value of money if you give them four quarters or four dollars at this age, and once you start an allowance, they start asking for raises! Pretty soon you are dishing out $80 a month to your 15 year old (and paying their car insurance)!

Answer 6

i have a six year old and i always have her do her small chores, cleaning her room, help straighten up, little jobs that show her responsibility and i pay her 6 dollars a week, a dollar for each year she is old. she saves it in a piggy bank and is wanting to get a new bike. the important thing is, she knows the value of her money some what and is learning to save. it also teaches her how to work for what she wants. i don't expect her to do too much work but she knows she has to put forward a little effort to earn her money.

Answer 7

My daughter has a chore list. She can do it or not. It's up to her. She is 6 years old and she gets 10 cents for every check mark on her list. She can get up to $4.20 a week. Her chores are pick up clothes, toys and shoes in living room (most are hers) clean off the table, clean her bathroom, feed her dog, and clean her room (which she gets 2 check marks for if she does it because her room is a disaster area) But she only gets 10 cents per check mark because most of the mess she cleans up is hers and $4.20 a week is a lot to a 6 year old.

Answer 8

Rather than giving her money to save, my suggestion would be a points chart of sorts that allows her to put however many stickers on each time she completes a chore. Have a visual chart that shows how many stickers she must earn for a toy of her choice, a movie with mom, a dinner out, etc. Those are more reinforcing goals than just handing out money for saving. And, truthfully, it is not until kids are much older that they really appreciate receiving money anyway, so just a thought.

Answer 9

i would say 5.00 because what my parents did was what ever age i was i would get the same amount of cash each week i would have a list of chors like fold clothes take out trash or collect trash and each year it would go up a 1.00 so as long as i did the chores i was ok but if i was real,y good i was able to earn an extra doller like if i did not get into trouble and did all my chores with out being told and helped extra i earned extra money!! which was cool,and the way i see it is if they are old enough to help they can earn $$ she can even help with picking up her toys because she is young yet,help mom fold clothes and help mom set the dinner table lil thing like that and it will also help them in the long run becasue she will not only learn the value of a doller but how to work hard on earning it as well

Answer 10

wow, I didn't start getting paid till I was about 7 or 8. Try maybe about 3 dollars a week or something, what much is there for a 5 year old to buy?