Allowance or No Allowance?
10:21 AM
The other day I posted a list of age appropriate chores. While I 100% believe that my children should participate in helping to keep the family home clean and tidy, I do not offer them allowance. My parents never gave any to me, but if I had done my work like I was supposed to and behaved, I would be able to ask them for money should I need or want something within reason. I got to thinking though, what are other parent's take on the allowance versus no allowance deal? I can see the pros and cons to both.
Allowance
I would imagine that many parents who give allowance may do so to teach their children responsibility about money by allowing them to have some of their own. I can see the benefit to giving an allowance. Unfortunately, with four children in the home, it could get a bit costly. Also, I do not want the boys to feel like they should only do things to help their family if they are paid to do so. I do offer payment if the boys take on optional larger tasks. For instance, if my oldest cuts the grass, I will give him $5 for each 1/2 acre that he mows (we have an acre total).
No Allowance
As I mostly follow this train of thought, I do see the benefit to not giving allowance too. My boys know that chores are a fact of life and that everyone has to pitch in to help keep the house clean. While I do the majority of the cleaning (for free), they do have a designated task to do each day as well as keeping their rooms clean. This teaches them respect and responsibility for their home without getting anything monetary in return. However, maybe they are lacking in the "how to manage money" skills. Although, I do encourage them to be responsible with their birthday money etc and support any measures they may want to take to earn money of their own.
So, what is your take? Do you give allowance or not? Let me finish this by saying, I do not feel there is a right or wrong answer. Everyone does what they feel is right for their family, and this is just a post to see both sides of the spectrum.
23 comments
We did not give them an allowance... the thought was they live here and it is their home and they will be more connected to it if they have chores that help take care of it.... we did always have a list of extra chores that they could do to earn money. There were also rewards ( not always money ) for doing things above and beyond. As for managing money... the first step in how to manage it is how to work to get it.... if it is given just because then they are not learning the most important lesson for this...in my opinion
ReplyDeleteWe do give allowance when they complete chores, when isn't very often.
ReplyDeleteWe are about the same Michelle. They have a chore or sometimes two if they aren't big things that they are told to do each day, then if they want to choose a different chore or a harder task, then they can earn rewards for that.
ReplyDeleteCrystal- that is my fear if I did offer allowance. I would be afraid that they would feel the chores were something they could skip if they didn't want the money.
I would give an allowance for additional chores. I wish my parents would have given me an allowance if only so I could learn about money and the importance of managing it better.
ReplyDeleteMy son doesn't get an allowance. We do have certain chores that he does get paid for. He has to save 5%, and give away (donate) 5% of what he makes, though.
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying reading everyone's feedback. We're not to this point yet, but we'll get there.
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough one. We haven't decided allowance or no allowance yet. Ours are only 3 and 4. I hope we have a while before we have to.
ReplyDeleteJake doesn't get an allowance exactly, but he has chores and when he does them he's more likely to get what he wants such as a new game or clothing, etc.
ReplyDeleteLucky for me my tot still ENJOYS chores! Too bad she't not tall enough to wash the dishes!
ReplyDeleteI will definitely give my daughter an allowance. However it will go into a savings account :)
ReplyDeleteThere's advantages to both and it probably depends on the child's personality too.
ReplyDeleteI just gave money out when they needed it, I always bought them stuff and well, they never even had chores except clean there bedroom. I was given grief for it but the kids are all grown now and are wonderful kids LOL.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter does get an allowance but it's not on a regular basis. It all depends on her behavior and if she does things (feed the dog, make her bed, put her laundry away) without us asking her to.
ReplyDeleteI got an allowance as a child from my grandparents. My mother made me put half in a savings account and I got to keep the other half. It taught me awesome early spending habits which, if I say so myself, worked out fairly well!
ReplyDeleteI did the allowance thing for a while. But I like teaching them that chores are a part of family. My son can earn money for mowing the lawn - $7 and cleaning his bathroom - $3. All other chores are not paid.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I don't have to pay my son anything - he loves to clean, which is awesome for a boy! ~lol~ However, it does teach responsibility. :)
ReplyDeleteNo allowance yet-
ReplyDeleteallowance is a touchy subject around here we also have 4 kids. My kids feel they need to get paid for everything. SO NOW WE pay them for nothing. If they want to be fed that day they better help clean. lol
ReplyDeleteWe don't give an allowance but do reward the kids with things they need or want. :)
ReplyDeleteI never give my daughter allowance and she has still learned to be responsible with money when we do give it to her. I think it just depends on the kid :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't grow up with an allowance ... and we aren't giving allowances "per se" but we are trying to work on teaching how to handle money -- saving/spending/tithing, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think what we will do is have a list of weekly chores, and if and only if all of them are done they can pick from paid chores... $2 to mop all floors, $3 to wash baseboards... that kind of thing.... the more they do, the more they get, but I also get the help I need!
ReplyDeleteWe do not do allowance yet. I think age 3 is too early for that.
ReplyDelete