Poll: Allowence for kids...

[2cpuminimum]

$5 isn't what it used to be, but every week that still adds up to $260. I think 0.25$/week/yearofage is a good rate, paying extra for extra tasks. Once they're 16 and can work, only paying for extra tasks makes sense, but don't expect work to be done that you're not paying for, it just isn't reasonable. Kids are your responsibility to take care of, not the other way around. This is assuming the kid is actually studying and working hard in school, which is a full time job already. Remember, the more time your kids spend studying and reading in youth, the less they will need to ask for money later, and the more likely they will be able to help you later if you need it. Don't pile extra tasks on them when they're already in five AP classes trying to get into a good college.

Here's an idea: If a task is so *basic* that your wife doesn't want to pay the kids for it, then come up with a list of things they will be fined for not doing. Always provide written notice in advance that if the situation is not fixed within seven days their *wages* will be garnished. This will be more like a real appartment where they will have to mow the lawn *or else*.

 

[rgwalt]

Here is my stance... allowence shouldn't be based on doing chores. I was expected to do chores around the house, but if I got sick or couldn't do them one week for whatever reason (school, etc), I would still get my allowence. However, I was expected to do all the chores I was asked to do, and keep my room clean.

In the spring/summer/fall, I would do all the yard work, though my parents would chip in on occassion. Sometimes I wouldn't have to do anything but mow, but other times I would be expected to trim the trees and hedges, do some weeding, take care of the garden, and other odd jobs. Sometimes I would be asked to vaccume the house, other times not... It just depended on how much time my parents had and how much time I had to get the work done around the house. But I didn't get any more money on the weeks where I worked really hard versus the weeks when I didn't.

I plan on pursuing the same sort of thing with my kid(s). My family isn't going to be a capitalistic unit where I pay my kids to do things. Everyone will be expected to chip in and help out, and in turn as being part of the family my kids will receive an allowence. You could call is socialistic, and that would be fine. That isn't the way the real world work, but in my opinion, it is the way that families *should* operate.

Their allowence will go up based on their age, starting at whatever age I think they are responsible to start saving and spending their own money, and will continue to increase through high school until they move away for college. I don't want my kids to work during high school unless they work during the summer. Their job during the school year will be to go to school, study, get good grades, and participate in extra curriculars so they can get scholarships for college. I'd much rather give them a healthy allowance with the hope that they will pay their own way through school with scholarship money.

Then again, I'm 25 and the thought of having kids scares me to death, so maybe I'm not the best person to talk to.

R

 

[Mo0o]

Originally posted by: rgwalt
Here is my stance... allowence shouldn't be based on doing chores. I was expected to do chores around the house, but if I got sick or couldn't do them one week for whatever reason (school, etc), I would still get my allowence. However, I was expected to do all the chores I was asked to do, and keep my room clean.

In the spring/summer/fall, I would do all the yard work, though my parents would chip in on occassion. Sometimes I wouldn't have to do anything but mow, but other times I would be expected to trim the trees and hedges, do some weeding, take care of the garden, and other odd jobs. Sometimes I would be asked to vaccume the house, other times not... It just depended on how much time my parents had and how much time I had to get the work done around the house. But I didn't get any more money on the weeks where I worked really hard versus the weeks when I didn't.

I plan on pursuing the same sort of thing with my kid(s). My family isn't going to be a capitalistic unit where I pay my kids to do things. Everyone will be expected to chip in and help out, and in turn as being part of the family my kids will receive an allowence. You could call is socialistic, and that would be fine. That isn't the way the real world work, but in my opinion, it is the way that families *should* operate.

Their allowence will go up based on their age, starting at whatever age I think they are responsible to start saving and spending their own money, and will continue to increase through high school until they move away for college. I don't want my kids to work during high school unless they work during the summer. Their job during the school year will be to go to school, study, get good grades, and participate in extra curriculars so they can get scholarships for college. I'd much rather give them a healthy allowance with the hope that they will pay their own way through school with scholarship money.

Then again, I'm 25 and the thought of having kids scares me to death, so maybe I'm not the best person to talk to.

R

My thoughts exactly

 

[Landroval]

I agree with your gf

 

[MithShrike]

Regulat chores should not be something you get paid for. However, if you have a list of extra chores like washing the car et cetera then that should be a way they can earn money. Also, you may want to think of something like chore rotation. One week Billy does the dishes and the next the lawn, vice versa for Betty.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Should stefan learn to spell allowance?

You should add that to your poll.

 

[joecool]

an excellent question, and one i have been struggling with of late. my sons are 8 and 6 years old. here's what we're doing, which i think mostly works:

- allowance isn't for doing chores, it's something we give them because we love them and to help them learn how to manage money.
- because they receive allowance, they have to pay for some things themselves - for instance, my older son pays the dues for his cub scout den. as they get older their allowance will increase AND they will be responsible for more of their own expenses - for instance, buying cloths.
- right now they both get $6/week. this is instantly divided into three "bins" - college savings, personal savings, and fun money. the college savings will be put towards their college education. personal savings is something they can use to buy large-ticket items that they may want - say, a toy. at this age we help them decide what is appropriate to spend this money on, but as they get older they will get more leway on this. the final category is money they can do anything with - save it, spend it, give it away. their are limits on what they can buy, but very few. as a part of the learning experience they both have "account books" where they right down how much they deposit and withdraw from the two savings bins. periodically the college savings is deposited into their bank accounts.

this seems to work pretty well. my older son has taken to saving some of his "fun money" towards some big ticket items he wants. the 6-year-old spends it as fast as he gets it but has experienced NOT having money for something he wanted several times. i think as he matures he will come to see the value of saving and resisting impulse buying.

 

[Injury]

Be strict with it.

The point of allowance isn't to give kids money or to let them buy whatever they want, it's to teach them responsibility with money.

You have to teach them how to save up for the things they want, and you have to teach them that if they don't have their own money for something, mom and dad won't help them. You can give them a little spoiling now and then... like, once every few months, but if you give them all sorts of cash then buy things for them... they won't learn the value of money.

My parents would let me see a movie only if I paid my own way. I would only get candy if I bought it. Even a gumball from the machine in the lobby of the grocery store I had to foot the bill for.

My allowance as a kid was $5/week. (this was in the 80's). I was expected to do basic things... keep my room clean, be on time for dinner, clean my dishes when I was done... my brother and I switched meals, one meal I would set the table, he would help clean up the table, then the next meal we had to switch.

This also meant that during school, we had to do our homework before we went out to play or we lost our $5 for the week. If we got a demerit at school for missing our homework, the jig was up. Any calls home, no money.

If you think about it, $1 a day for doing basic stuff is pretty fair... to a kid it's good at least. All you had to do was do what you were supposed to and you get $5. As I got older, my parents and I would have a quick talk about raises and the extra work I would do for it. Now vaccuming and dusting other rooms of the house as well as all the previous work would get me $7/week.

There were things that could score more money for me but it was a big extra workload. If I mowed the lawn whenever my parents wanted me to during the summer, I would get an extra $2/week for as long as the lawn needed mowed... again, my brother and I had to take turns... if one of us didn't want to do it, the other could pick up an extra $2 by doing it.


You tend to learn the value of a dollar and still get the concept of work when you have to bust your ass for 4 months to buy a super nintendo... passing up all the cool action figures you could buy and the movies you could go see.

When I turned 16, I got a job and paid for my own first car all my own. My parents had to sign the loan, but I made every payment, I made it on time every time. Now I do the work around the house just because it's habit. I've never been told at any job that I'm anything less than a dedicated and hard worker. It's easier to tell myself not to squander money on stupid stuff, and at 23, I'm already learning to build my credit. I'm cautious with my money and I shake my head everytime one of my friends tells me some deadbeat stunt they tried to pull.

Again, I say, the goal with allowance isn't to give a kid money, it's to teach them the value of that money and what it takes to get what you want.

 

[Lonyo]

I get £50/mo, but that's basically what my Dad gets for havin gme in the house (£17/week child benefits), so he doesn't really give me anything, the gverment do.
When I go to uni, it stops, because I won't be his responsibility, and he won't be getting any money anyway, so there's none to pass on.
As for your comment about the girl being safe with the mower, same should apply for any boys. Boys, even if they are physically stronger, may not be mentally developed enough to be trusted.

 

[nageov3t]

I tend to agree with your GF to a certain extent. I got an allowance as a kid that was no dependant on doing chores. unless I was being punished or something, I just got it.

but there were chores that my parents expected and asked my sister and I to do (mostly cleaning our rooms and light inside housework like vacuming or dusting).

 

[g8wayrebel]

How much are you going to give them for learning how to spell allowance?

 

[Bryophyte]

I give my older kid (9) five bucks a week IF he keeps his room clean. He can earn additional money on top of that (five to six bucks for mowing the lawn, a buck or two here and there for helping with other bigger chores.) The rule is that half automatically has to be put in his savings account or his brokerage account. The other half he can spend as he chooses.

My daughter (5) doesn't get an allowance yet, but gets a dollar or two or some coins for being a big "helper" sometimes. She usually puts it in the bank, but on a rare occasion, she'll spend it on a toy or something like that.

When they hit high-school, they will be expected to shoulder most of the costs of clothes and entertainment and stuff like that from their allowance and any jobs they get. Their allowances will grow as they get older and start paying their own way.