I am curious about how others approach the allowance issue. Many of our son's friends (ages 9-13) seem to have very generous allowances ($10+ per week), with no ties to responsibilities around the house. Our son informed me just yesterday that he sure wished he got $15 a week like his friend X does.
What are others doing these days about allowances? What's the going rate? Success strategies? Are any of you (like me) still tying their allowance payouts (however loosely) to completion of household chores? I'd really appreciate others' perspectives on this issue.
I don't give allowances. I
I don't give allowances. I don't get paid for doing chores and I don't believe it sends the right message to my kids if they do. I never got an allowance when I was growing up. My mom rewarded me in other ways for doing what I was supposed to do but mostly I did it because she told me to! I think that just old fashioned responsibility is far more important than thinking that someone has to be paid for the slightest helpful gesture. Where do you draw the line? If you ask your child to do a simple task not already in their "allowance chores" then are you supposed to pay more? Are they going to expect more? Just my opinion.
Susan
We don't give allowances to
We don't give allowances to our kids either. I don't really see the point. I had a weekly allowance of $10 when I was in high school to help pay for gas money but it ended up causing conflict between me and my dad. He never liked being reminded to fork over the $$ to me, but if I didn't remind him he would forget, so it was a no win situation for me.
Anyway, I agree with the previous comment that kids should pitch in around the house with various chores because that's what it means to be part of a family and living with others. They shouldn't expect to be paid for it.
DesertMom
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com
Thanks for the input. I find
Thanks for the input. I find it discouraging that children these days seem reluctant to do much of anything without the promise of some reward--food, trips, money, toys. I'm lucky--my son does to a certain extent, but he frequently sees others who don't, and it's another instance where his final conclusion is simply "life is SO not fair."
He's right, of course, but it's hard to explain when that's what we raise our children to believe at some level: that working hard and following rules will result in some reward...
Hello...In our famliy we
Hello...In our famliy we approach allowence like this:
First,there are chores we as a famliy do everyone is assigned a few things.These are FREE!!
Second, my husband and I will make a list of extra stuff that needs to be done around the house or outside, or even washing the car.With those extra jobs we will pay a allowence.
Seems to work well for us.What ever you try hope it works.
I like that idea of "extra
I like that idea of "extra stuff" being used to earn money. Also, I like the idea of a percentage of what they earned going into savings account to teach them saving their money as early as possible. Does anyone do that? What percentage do you use?
I read an article recently
I read an article recently in the NY Times about how more and more parents are paying an allowance in "minutes" rather than money. Kids do chores around the house or do extra reading time and earn minutes for video game playing or tv time. I think this is pretty clever.
DesertMom
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com
We have a check list of
We have a check list of stuff they are responsible for: making their bed, brushing their teeth, washing their face, putting on sunscreen, setting/clearing the table, etc. If they do their list each day - they get $5 per month. $2.50 cash and $2.50 for savings.
They can earn more for each smiley face or check mark they earn, and they earn those by doing something extra. (or if I get a compliment for their good behavior). They can also get frown faces or X's and those subtract amounts from the total.
They don't seem as interested when it's cash. Some month's its a trip to Chuck E Cheese's and that seems a better motivator, but at 6 and 8 the idea is just to get them used to doing their part.
Lovemy4 is a discussion leader for North Central Phoenix, tired mother of 4 great kids and wife to one great husband.
Motivation is a hard one for
Motivation is a hard one for us. We don't pay an allowance. We made a list of things that our daughter can make .25 for completing. If she doesn't do things that are free things like making beds .25 will be subtracted instead of added. Money isn't paid until she hits $5. Once she gets a lot of money she wants to spend it all. That is where I step in and tell her how much she can spend.
Sandi is a discussion leader for the East Valley. She lives in Chandler with her husband and 10 year old daughter that thinks she is 15.