Child's allowance?

Question

I never got an allowance as a child. My parents gave me $$ whenever I needed it but never gave me an "allowance". My children are 7&8 yrs. old & I don't give them an allowance. We live on a very tight budget & that makes it pretty hard to do that. They have their own chores they are responsible for doing & we have a sticker chart. They get to pick a prize once they earn 12 stickers. A prize could be having a friend come over, staying up 30min. past bedtime, etc. I saw someone posted a ? about how much allowance for your child & I started thinking I should give them one. Before, my way of thinking was they live here & should help out just for that reason alone. I'm wondering is that a wrong way to look at it? Does money really "talk"? (LOL) Should children have to do the chores simply because it's the right thing to do? I like the idea of a $/wk for every yr. old they are. But how would you work in if they do their chores, continue getting good grades & doing well w/ behavior? Help!??!

Answer 1

When I was young, I didn't get an allowance from my parents. I got myself a job delivering flyers and papers, and that was my source of income. If I wanted to have something other than food or clothes, it was my responsibility to buy it with my own money.

I found it taught me to value my money, and not to waste it on foolish things.

Cheers

Answer 2

I think giving kids an allowance is a good idea because it teaches them how to manage their money rather than just begging from mom and dad whenever they need something.

Here is what my parents have always done:
Weekly allowance is a set number, but it is based upon how old you are, that way older kids get more money and younger kids who don't really have anything to spend money on get less. We got 50 cents times the grade we were in per week. So a 4th grader would get $2 a week, an 8th grader would get $4 a week, etc.

We also have a set amount for chores such as mowing the lawn and vacuuming the house, but little things like setting the table and cleaning your own room were not money-earners.

Also, we have always had a system for getting good grades. Each A is $5, each B is $1, each C is -$5 and Ds and Fs were not discussed. We continued this system into high school, but As and Bs in honors classes were worth more money.

Obviously, your approach and the amount of money you want to give as an allowance will certainly differ based upon your circumstances but I would definitely encourage you to create some sort of a system which gives your kids a set amount of allowance and ways that they can earn more money by doing extra work. And if they want something that they can't afford, you can lend them some money, but make them pay you back. I'm only,18 but I can see how terribly some of my friends have learned to manage money, and I can't imagine how broke they will be when they actually have bills to pay.

Good luck!

Answer 3

Allowance should be a set thing, and not linked to chores or behavior. [It could be taken away for those things, though.] If you are on a tight budget then could you give them $1/wk? That would be a lot for them because they haven't gotten an allowance before. My kids are 11 and 12 and they get $2/wk to spend any way they want, they can earn $1 for practicing piano and typing, they get $1 for short term saving, and $1 to put in the bank. If they want they can earn extra money by doing additional chores around the house, but they have to ask to do them. For instance, since this is spring they can do extra yardwork on their own time, but when i am ready for the 3 of us to do yardwork, we all troop out there and do it and they don't get extra money.

Answer 4

I started giving my son an allowance at 3-4 years old. I did this for a few reasons, I had realized he was spoiled and I needed to change my ways and not give in to things. I wanted to teach him what it was like to work for something you want and buy it yourself. I realized this one day when we went to 3 stores and I bought him something in 2 of them and in the 3rd I said no because I was out of money and he got very upset. So we decided that giving him an allowance, we no longer had to tell him that we didn't have the money, we could tell him that sorry you spent your allowance so you have to wait for next week.
Now my son is 11, and he is a cheapskate! If he is told he can get an ice cream from the ice cream man for $1 of his own money, he will skip it. He saves his money for things he wants. He has plenty of daily chores, he feeds and waters chickens, rabbits, and ducks daily. On the weekends he helps his dad at the donut shops that he manages, he does some minor cleaning while his dad does the drawers there, so he spends about 2 hours on a Saturday morning working, he makes about $10 a week.
As far as the good grades. He is a 6th grader, in middle school for the first year. He has struggled in the past, he still does. But he has made the honor roll this term for the first time ever. I had told him in the begining of school that if he got highest honors (all A's) I'd give him $50 a term. If he made honor roll I'd give him $25. The way I see it, I may end up giving him a lot of money in the next few years, and I really hope I do, by encouraging him to do great in school, I may not have to pay as much for him to go to college, so it's an investment in my future.
I understand your tight budget, I think if what your doing for your kids is working for you, keep it up, maybe in a few years you can afford to give them an allowance, if not that is fine too. Yes children should have to do chores because they are part of a family and a family doesn't hold itself together it takes help from all the working parts.

Answer 5

Well I am a mother of 3 12 yrs 11 yrs and 10 they do their house chores no matter what because you live in the house you must do chores there is no getting around it, If you decide to give your child an allowance that is your decision not because someone else does it o.k.

Answer 6

I don't think that you should link chores with an allowance. Chores are to teach responsibility. If you choose to give your children an allowance, then do so within the boundaries of you budget. If you can only give a couple of bucks a week then your kids will learn to save well and spend wisely. You way of thinking is fine. They are members of the household and should contribute. No one pays you for providing meals and laundry service right?

Answer 7

As I answered to the last question, I don't think that the two should be linked to one another. Chores are one issue, and allowance is another. Chores are part of being a responsible member of the household.

But I do think that its important that children learn about money from a young age. In our family when we were young we got our age per month in allowance--and for young kids 7 or 8 dollars per month in discretionary spending is perfectly reasonable (I don't think that a 7 year old should have $42/month in spending money). That helps them understand from a very young age that money is limited and that it must be thoughtfully rationed to cover the "wants" in life. I also think you should use it as a lesson teach them about saving up for bigger items or for future expenses and charity. I know some families that have 3 jars for when they give their children their allowance marked "savings" "charity" and "spending" and the kids divide the money equally between the three. Then the kids get to learn how putting their savings money into a bank works, and they get to pick a charity to donate money to. I think those are really great lessons in teaching children personal and civic responsibility.

Answer 8

I think you are doing the right thing now. Children should not be paid for their chores. Chores are something you do as part of a family. You are teaching your children values and you should be proud of what you are doing. Money isn't everything, but to show them that they can be compensated for doing extra things, you could give them some money for doing things that are not part of their regular chores such as raking the lawn or cleaning the car, etc. This shows children the value of work and how to earn money for things they want.

Answer 9

Oh god that reminds me of how when i was little and school was off my parents would make me write essays and do math while everybody else was out having fun. 1st of all get rid of that sticker system. Yes make them do chores just like they always do, if you are on a tight budget explain that to them and if they are good and normal kids just give them randon things such as for instance you guys are out buy them $1 ice cream at mcdonalds and little stuff like that, give them a couple dollars every now and them and buy the a piggy bank or something like that and teach them to save money. STOP WATCHING DR PHIL. that sticker system and all that kind of stuff will make them feel bad and different from all the other kids.

Answer 10

My children have allowances but they are not tied into chores. They have chores because we all live in this house and it is everyone's responsibility to pitch in. I started giving allowances so that they could learn to manage money. My oldest gets $5.00 a week and at the beginning would spend ALL of it immediately. Now she's a saver and really thinks about what she is going to spend her money on. She has begun to set savings goals for herself and she takes pride when she has made her goal and gets to buy whatever she wants (I rarely step in to tell them what they can and cannot buy).

Answer 11

Kids want spending money and earning it gives them responsibility. Since you will pay for something anyway, why not make it an allowance so they learn the value of work.

I give my daughter $8 a week if she does a few simple but helpful chores each day. For each A on a report card, she gets $1. I dont pay for good behaivor, I take away privileges for bad behaivor.