Making Kids Earn Their Allowance

My kids always earn their allowance. If they want something, they have to work for, I don't just hand them money for nothing. They have assigned chores they are required to do in order to receive their pay, and I will also offer up jobs to them as they come along, and each job is worth a certain amount of money.

 

As kids, we were required to do daily chores, and then there were weekly chores, such as stripping the beds and changing the sheets, etc. We each received a small allowance, but even if we hadn't, the chores weren't optional. On top of that, we had a chore chart, with pay amounts attached. Mind you, the pay back then was minimal, and whenever we wanted to purchase something for ourselves or others, we would study the chart, and see which additional chores we could do, in order to earn enough for whatever amount of money we hoped to accumulate.

 

I definitely think this should be instilled from an early age. My brother and I always used to help dad in his shop, cleaning and anything else we could do for pocket money. I used to have a money bank full and my brother and I would race to do tasks and then split the money.

These days some parents do spoil their kids and I stayed with a widowed friend and even though he was broke, he still hired a cleaner because he didn't want to fire her. I taught the kids to do laundry and tidy up their room and they said the cleaner would do it. I told them even if they have a cleaner, they should still help and then she would have time to do other things. They did in the end as I said each must help in the house and then I promised to buy them a pizza and pop tarts!

 

This is how my parents brought us up. We had to clean up after ourselves in order to earn our pocket money. I used to feel like they were being horrible, but I'm now grateful for that. We always had house help, but my mum would even have us help her out with the house chores. In Botswana house help is usually treated like part of the family, and my mum would say she's not there to pick up after us. It really teaches children a sense of responsibility and discipline.

 

I don't think the children should work for their money (if the parent can afford allowance of course). I'm against giving money for chores, because the children may feel that they are working for their parents. The children should understand that they should help in the house without receiving compensation, because it's their house too anyway. The money should be given to the children until the working age, not before.

 

Right now my oldest girls are 8 and 6. They do not earn any allowance for the chores they do, but up until this summer, my husband and I didn't consider their daily chores as "above and beyond" what they should be contributing to the household for the messes they make. Keeping their own rooms tidy and cleaning up their own messes, to us, wasn't worthy of being paid extra.

Now, however, they have begun FULLY CLEANING up the kitchen after meals. It is much more work than simply clearing dirty dishes and bringing them to the sink. I'm highly considering paying them a monthly allowance as a result. I want to keep encouraging them to help out and to do good work, and I also want to start them on the process of learning how money works, how to save and spend, and the value of their time.

 

I agree with TalTBest, I think it's a bit harsh if you make your kids "work" for something that they're entitled to as kids. "Allowance" for me is defined as the money that parents give you when you go to school and the money that you ask if you want to go out or buy something. My parents asked us to do light chores, but we were never told that we should work for our allowance. But we were not spoiled, I remember that my parents will only buy what I want if they approve of it. Kids will eventually learn the value of money as they grow up and they start earning their own money, so let them enjoy their youth, where everything is free.

 

I believe kids should have chores that they are responsible for doing as they get older and larger so should the chores. Parents that wait on their children hand and foot are not teaching the child to be responsible for the things they get and the need to work for what you want. When my kids were younger I only paid for what I approved of, my daughter whanted to start to wear contacts, I did not approve of contacts, if she wanted them she had to get a job and earn the money to switch from glasses to contacts, she did.

 

Now that my kids are old enough, we always have them do chores to help out around the house. We both work and so it really does help us out to keep the house in order. We do give our kids a small allowance, but they would be expected to do their chores regardless. The allowance is more of a small treat and a thank you to them for helping out and doing their part. This way they can save up a little spending money to buy the things they want.

 

I wouldn't say the pocket money given children for helping around the house is like a payment. It's not even as if they're being made to slave on these chores, made to scrub floors and slave over stoves etc I think Rosyrain and Pat hit the nail on the head. It's more like a thank you for helping out, and a way of teaching them that anything they want, is not an entitlement and has to be earnt. They need to learn early on that the world doesn't owe them anything. I've come across people who have clearly never received these lessons from the home front, and my! they're the most entitled and self centred people I know. I just think teaching children these lessons so early on makes them more responsible and discipline adults, too.

 

There are way too many people running around these days with that sense of entitlement. My nieces are some of them, which is extremely irritating to my Mother and me. My sister is reaping what she's sown, unfortunately, and is starting to understand the consequences of giving them everything their hearts desire, whether or not they need or deserve it.

I think it's a lot healthier to raise children as @Lushlala @Pat and @Rosyrain stated, learning to do chores because they are part of the family, and being taught that families work together and take care of one another. Children need to learn to take responsibility to help keep the house up, and take care of their possessions. Many seem to think their parents are maids, servants, chauffeurs, etc., and exist solely for their benefit and enjoyment. As Lala said, this leads to them being self-centered, which is not going to suit them well in this life.

 

I too was brought up this way and although we had to earn our pocket money by keeping our rooms tidy, clearing up after ourselves and always helping out at mealtimes - we were also given the opportunity to earn more by doing extra chores around the house and garden and as the amount paid for those jobs was dependent on how well we did them - it of course encouraged us to do them well.

In fact although I resented it at the time - especially as many of my friends just had to ask and they got anything they wanted - I'm now very grateful for having been brought up this way - as not only did it help me learn the value of money and that you didn't get anything for nothing - but it also taught me to be responsible as well as considerate for other people too.

So yes I too would agree - teaching children to learn the value money by earning their pocket money - is the way to go - particularly as what they learn from that - will be of great benefit to them as they get older.