Allowance for an 8 yr old. How much is too much?

[PlatinumGold]

So, my 8 yr old was assigned a weekly chore. if he pickups the family room and Vacuums it every sunday for 4 sundays, he gets $20.00.

is that too much? my wife thinks so.

i think it's just right.

curious what other parents are giving their kids.

 

[Sphexi]

I got $5/week until I was like 12, then it jumped to a whole $10/week. Of that I had to put 10% into tithe, 20% into savings, and then the rest was mine. Once I hit 16 it stopped cause I got a job.

 

[KLin]

20 bucks a month? I'd hold out for more money

 

[FleshLight]

$20 a month if he does the dishes, vacuums, and takes out the trash sounds more reasonable.

 

[shabby]

Actually 20 a month isnt that bad.

 

[nageov3t]

what's an 8 year-old going to do with $20/week?

up until high school, my allowance was $10/week, almost all of which got blown on candy, comic books, and going to the movies with my friends. got bumped up to $50/week in high school, but a big chunk of that had to go towards transportation and meals, since I had to take a train back and forth to school every day (and thus bought lunch most days because between the tons of books in my backpack and the crowded train, any sort of brownbag lunch would have been crushed by the time I got off the train).

edit: misread. I don't think $20/month is too much at all.

 

[yhelothar]

sounds good

 

[Amplifier]

As a good father it's important to teach your kid the importance of money. And the more money you give him the more he'll learn. $20 a week might be a little low but it's still reasonable.

 

[marvdmartian]

Dang, that makes the $5 a week I gave up, because I got a part time job in my senior year, seem like chump change!! :shocked:

 

[PlatinumGold]

Originally posted by: Amplifier
As a good father it's important to teach your kid the importance of money. And the more money you give him the more he'll learn. $20 a week might be a little low but it's still reasonable.

uhh, i'm giving him $20.00 per month. i want him to start buying some of his own toys, and i want him to see how long it will take him to save up for stuff like Game Boy DS and stuff.

$20.00 / month might be a bit low but i figure it's a good start.

 

[myusername]

Amplifier has 486 posts. I only noticed this because he has Apple II in his sig.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: PlatinumGold

Originally posted by: Amplifier
As a good father it's important to teach your kid the importance of money. And the more money you give him the more he'll learn. $20 a week might be a little low but it's still reasonable.

uhh, i'm giving him $20.00 per month. i want him to start buying some of his own toys, and i want him to see how long it will take him to save up for stuff like Game Boy DS and stuff.

$20.00 / month might be a bit low but i figure it's a good start.

If he doesn't complain or at least keeps it to a minimum you can surprise him by paying for a portion of it

 

[SithSolo1]

I got $25 a week w/o chores till 12. Then I got nothing and had to do lots of things.

 

[magomago]

Mmm I never got allowance and I probably won't give my kids allowance. They shouldn't be so concerned with money IMO at such a young age. If he wants something I'll consider getting it, but kids want EVERYTHING so i'll like my parnts and be a hard ass about it But I wouldn't mind getting him a game console and maybe a game every few months or so...but i don't want him being obsessed with money.

Learning financial is good to know, but learn it too young and you create a person who MIGHT care aout money too much... though i have friends that turned out fine, but i also see what it can do.

I say rather than give him 20 dollars a month you don't give him anything. But you save twenty dollars yourself for him and after a while ask if he wants something. That way he can still enjoy things and has a limit (although he doesn't know how high it goes...but see if he can figure out that if he waits longer he can get more expensive things) and doesn't worry about cash

 

[Howard]

I never got an allowance.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have no idea...I haven't had an allowance since I can't remember when and my son is almost 3 so he gets no allowance...actually, that's not entirely true, he has a savings account in his name with $2600 in there already.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Hmmmm, 8 years old? Until he's 12 he should be given enough to buy beer, but not hard liquor.

 

[jadinolf]

Originally posted by: Howard
I never got an allowance.

Me neither.

If I wanted money, I had to look outside the household for it-- cut grass, shovel snow, collect bottles, collect scrap and sell it, etc.

Not only that but I had to walk to school through the snow and it was uphill both ways.

 

[JoeKing]

Addon keeping his room clean, and that should be fair. Maybe he helps you wash the car once in a while (should also be fun)

 

[sygyzy]

When you are a kid, what expenses could you possibly have? Your parents pay for everything. $20 is fine to me. Any more would be too much.

 

[Atomicus]

I never got allowance either. Chinese New Year money I received went to my parents for "savings"... what a load of crap

 

[imported_Kensai]

I got an allowance till I was 12, then I got a job as a computer technician.
That job compares to my allowance like a giant does to an ant.

 

[Otaking]

whoa!

I had 0 allowance and made my own money by washing cars :Q

 

[Bryophyte]

My 8 year old gets 5 bucks a week, providing he keeps his room clean (some weeks he gets it, some he doesn't.) He gets a further $5 for mowing (slave labor, he has to mow a couple acres, but I don't think it's right to give him too much money at a time); he mows probably 8 months a year, about weekly. He also gets a dollar or two for helping with chores that aren't his normal ones (like helping with firewood or something like that.) As he gets older, his allowance and pay for chores will increase (but he will be expected to shoulder more of the burden for getting toys.)

The rule is, though, that at least half of his income goes directly into either his savings account or his brokerage account. He's allowed to spend the other half.

 

[Delta52]

Ages (10-13) I used to get $5 a week to mow the lawn, do the dishes, and vacum the living room and the family room. We had (a little less than) an acre of lawn area, no dishwasher and a good vacum cleaner. (Age 16) Then we moved near a city, now I mow the lawn, vacum the living room and the family room, and get nothing, cept for meals at school twice a week. $20 a month seems like alot to me for an 8 year old, but its your kid....