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School-Aged Children
lollitots
member
allowance questions
lollitots
member
How do you handle allowances? What age to start and how much? Do you increase it with extra chores or age? DH and I have been talking about this. We didn't want to start an allowance before DD could really add/subtract, but it is now time. Looking for ideas. Thx.
Proud Mommy to Kaylie 12-04, Alaina 5-06 & Annalise 6-08
This discussion has been closed.
Re: allowance questions
I think there are two ways to handle this:
1. Allowance as free spending money: in this case the allowance is given with few or no strings attached but parents then pull back on paying for "extras" the kid wants.
2. Allowance as payment for chores: in this case the child has regular chores that must be done every week, and the allowance is given only if the chores are done properly.
I feel like parents use method #1 when they want to give the child some financial responsibility and independence at an age when the child is too young to earn money as many middle-schoolers can, by babysitting or mowing grass, etc. Parents who use #2 are usually using the allowance to teach household responsibility and as a motivator for the child to get chores done without nagging the child.
My DD asked for allowance when she was 10. She negotiated the terms with my H. They decided on method #1 and $3/week. This started when she turned eleven. I still pay for all her clothes unless she wants something I think is unnecessary. She spends her allowance on junk when she goes out with her friends, and on art supplies at Michael's.
My son is 8. We'll probably start giving him an allowance soon. He really likes video games, so I'm thinking it will be good for him to have to budget and save up for games instead of constantly begging me for them.
I lurk here because I have two sons, DS1 age 7 and DS2 age 5. I hope no on minds my two cents on this one.
My children both have chores. Some things they do just because they are part of the family (such as putting dishes in the sink). Then they each have four chores that they can do everyday earning $0.25 each. So they can earn up to $7 a week for doing their chores. The chores would only take 10 minutes total each day.
When they are paid each Sunday, the first dollar always goes to giving (church, Salvation Army, etc.). The next two dollars must go into college savings. Anything after that is their money to spend as they wish. I have also posted all of the cleaning that I do on the wall in the kitchen (weekly, EOW, monthly, and every six months in a checklist). It helps them to understand that a clean house takes work. They can do any of my chores (clean the sink, wipe the floorboards in a single room, etc) and they can earn an extra $0.25 for each of those.
I am so proud of my DS2, he just saved enough money to buy a Nintendo DS! He has been saving some of his weekly spending money for over a year.
Mother of two wonderful boys! Blessed through adoption.
We were torn on this for a long time. We didn't want to feel like we were paying him to do the chores/things around the house that he's *supposed* to do, ya know? I mean, we all live here so we all have to chip in - no pays me to take out the garbage.
But we wanted him to learn some responsibility with money so we had to figure out something. So earlier this school year (he's in 1st) we decided on $10/wk. $5 of that goes directly into his savings account - he likes to check and see that it's there and how much is accumulating. The other $5 he gets in cash to put in his wallet and spend as he sees fit (within reason - obviously we're not letting him spend $50 at the candy store or whatever, lol). We try to have him decide what he wants, wait a week, and then see if he still wants it/feels the price is worth it. Sometimes he decides it is and others he changes his mind. So far he hasn't spent more than $5-10 on anything with the exception of the $20 he donated to Jump Rope For Heart.
So we all think of it like this - if he's doing all the good stuff he's supposed to be doing (including not fighting about homework) he gets the $5. If he doesn't, he gets less. If he goes above and beyond - like when he does a load of laundry without being asked - he gets and extra $1. The $5 in his savings is automatically deposited so he'll always have at least that. So far he's earned as much as $8 in cash and once he lost the whole $5.
It's not perfect but it seems to be working as an introduction...at least for now.