My kids do NOT get an allowance. They are expected to keep their rooms and bathroom clean at all times. They also must help with any normal everyday things I ask them to do such as dishes, taking out trash, sorting laundry, feeding the dog, some sweeping and vacuming. They are apart of the family and so I don't think it is appropriate for me to give them money to help out. They eat off the dishes they can help wash them. They dirty their clothes they can help wash them. They use the bathroom they can help clean it. I certainly would never ever pay them to have a good attitude or do school work!! I can't even imagine! I do pay Sam for extras, usually big jobs like raking the whole yard, pulling weeds and washing cars. My neighbors across the street now call her to do things for them too. She will often be called to wash their trucks or rake their yards and they pay her better than I do! Bottom line though is that what I do is what works for me and what follows the rules my dh and I have for our girls. They aren't going to be the same across the board and wont be right for everyone.
I feel the same why you do, Tiffany. I just thought I was being and odd duck because it seemed everyone else paid their kids. lol. Also, my kids wanted an allowance. I really only wanted to give them money to teach them to save and tithe. If they don't do what they are told I just spank them. lol. Now, I do pay for certain jobs but that was it until my kids inquired about getting an allowance. Jury is still out on how much I will give them. I do know it will not be connected to chores or schoolwork. I almost was going to connect it to attitude but I'm thinking not....I shouldn't have to pay them to respect one another. My problem is how my dd and ds interact at times. Thanks for all the responses. Again, I will consider an allowance based on teaching them to use money wisely.
Hmm. Our kids do not get an allowance per se. I just don't believe in giving them money just "because" their part of our family. For example, my DH doesn't give me money for that reason. Just as I will occasionally get something for myself, we occasionally get things (or do things - a trip to the zoo, say) for the boys. Our kids have to help around the house as requested (okay, required). They are responsible to do certain things, like put away their shoes, brush their teeth, set the table. and put away their toys. We try to allow logical consequences when possible. For example, two weeks ago, their toys were strewn from here to kingdom come. I was picking them up, and repeatedly asked the 4yo and 6yo if they thought it was a good idea for me to pick them up alone. (I just didn't feel like a fight). They finally said yes (!!!!)....soooooo, when the toys were put away, they were AWAY. And, we had a little tete-a-tetes about how they could just forget about having toys for a while. They can earn money for doing extra chores. I have a set of index cards in my binder. As they come up needing to be done, I will either offer or assign (depending on the circumstances). Each chore is worth 25 cents, except for one which is a BIGGIE, and either I split it with a child or they get 50 cents (no one has tried it alone yet). All the money gets put in transparent banks we got from the kids' bank. I set up accounts at a local bank that matched the initial deposit up to $50 (They earned that initial deposit, except for the 2yo - I gifted him $50). They are becoming more regular about actually earning quarters to put in the bank. Soon, I anticipate being able to put into action the next step: Emptying the banks periodically - part to the bank savings account, part to church, and part to spend (or put back in their bank - up to them). DH & I have discussed how they need to start offering at church from "their" money. They each like to put money in the plate, but want us to supply it. I think part of understanding money is understanding what it means to give your own.
My boys are 5 and 7 and they have a list of chores to do each day. They each earn 10 cents per chore. If they do every chore it works out to almost $5 a week. They can also get fined for some issues and they can opt to pay me to do one of their chores. For a 9-11 year old probably $10-$15 a week would be good, but I would expect them to show responsible behaviors in order to get an allowance.
Tiffany: We do the same here. The kids are expected to help around the house because they ARE part of the family and live here too. Now that they are older, however, they are quite resourceful about how to make some money. My son has chickens and sells eggs (pays for the feed,etc. himself and keeps the profit) while my daughter shovels snow for neighbors. They see both dh and myself working in our own businesses, so I guess there's a lesson that they learned there. Carol
That's really cool! Samantha has made some things like coin purses and doll clothes and has sold some to her friends. Not a lot but hey it is the fact that she is taking initiative. My dh and I both own our own businesses too.
Thats good advice for the familys doing it that way Deena is that weekly/Monthly? A lot of people on here are saying how much they give but they are not saying if its weekly biweekly or what?
we don't do "allowance"....... we used to use the clear piggy banks and they wold get change to put in them but they started cutting them open with out being told so we stopped. Now they have wallets for their money. They take turns going to the store with their dad on saturday and in return that child gets money. (it was recently decreased from $5 to $3 because my DH's not getting over time anymore). but thats just for them to use how they want...... and occasionally they get more for doing extra things that we don't ask them to do..... any where from $1 to $5.... we buy them things too, Wii games on occasion, etc... but really they get most of their toys for birthday and christmas. also if they find change around the house they get it. (mostly when it falls out of DH's pants pocket or in the washing machine.)
