Chores/ Alowance

Id have to know how old you are, but my daughter is 7 and she gets a dollar a day for her list.

1.keep room clean, including closets, and bed made.
2.put up dried dishes
3. keep bathroom clean
4.take care of cat, litter box and food and water
5.bring in empty trash cans, and gather trash from bathrooms and bedrooms
6 homework
7 fold dishrags
8 help with little sister at least three times

remember chores are not a job, they are things you should be doing as a part of the family to help out, the money is just a bonus.

My kids do half of this, and get $5. I think you should get twice that. And when I was a kid I did all of what you do, and i got $10, but any out side work like lawn care was extra and I got paid extra for it. But what I do with my kids is that this number is the starting wage, and each time I have to ask them to do chores they know they are supposed to do, I deduct a quarter, and each time it is not done correctly I deduct a quarter, so they only get the full $5 if they really do the chores and do them right.

Hi Sierra! In our household you do not get paid for doing your chores, you do them to add to the family up keep of our home, my thought would be would you still do the chores even if you were not getting paid? :) The allowance is given as a teaching tool on how to handle money. Save, give and spend and the amount determines the maturity and what we can afford.

My kids do chores as you've listd but they have never asked to get paid. They just know it's part of keeping up the house.

In my opinion it's very generous of your M. to pay you even $5.00 to clean up after yourself and helping with the house =-)

Hi Sierra - I'm wondering how on earth you have time for schoolwork, after-school activities, or hanging out with friends with all those chores you're doing! Three hours a day seems quite excessive to me - I know if my 15 year old son had that many chores to do, he would never be able to give his main job, namely his schoolwork, enough attention. In my opinion, your hard work deserves alot more than 5 dollars a week - I think you should be getting a dollar for every year of your age per week, at least, because it sounds like you're basically live-in help for your parents, and if they had to go out and find a "real" housekeeper, they'd be paying much much more for the same thing.

How about you and your parents split up your work into thing you do because you live there and things you do to earn money? We all need to chip in around the house because we're a family, and then the things you do to earn money could each have a dollar value attached to them. Your parents are teaching you how to take care of yourself and a household -- things you will be amazed that some adults don't know how to do. Maybe if you got $10 a week that would be good.

You'll find that there's no "right" answer. Amounts vary by region and by family... and many families don't have either an allowance OR pay for chores.

That said... we DO have an allowance that is linked... and here's the list of my 8yo's chores:

Daily:

- Make His Breakfast
- Dishes (B, L, D, & snacks... his own, and to help w/ cooking dishes)
- Shower & Brush Teeth
- Make Bed
- Pick up Toys/ clean his room (except 2)
- Take Out Recycling
- School
- Play
- Help with Projects (from painting, to building, to shopping, big cleans, holiday schtuff, laying a new floor, what have you).
- Help w/ Prepping & Cooking Dinner

Weekly:

Wash his Sheets & remake bed
Wash & Put Away his Clothes
Clean Room
Pick a chore x 1 (Like mop the floors, yard work, clean up after dog, windex, etc.)

For doing ALL of it, he gets $7 a week. For doing all of it with a good attitude AND in a timely fashion... he gets a $3 bonus. He gets all $10 about half the time. Even with all of his daily chores... they rarely add up to more than 30 minutes a day EXCEPT for when we're cooking or working on projects. It only takes about 2 minutes to get clothes in the machine or cycle the wash. 5 minutes tops to put them away. So doing ALL of his clothes AND takes him a grand total of about 7-10 minutes, even though the machines take about 2 hours to wash and dry them. Because he cleans his room every day... it takes him about 10 minutes to clean up from that day's adventures. Etc.

Our allowance goes up every year. HOWEVER... each time his allowance goes up he's also responsible for paying for more of his things.

Currently he pays $10 per month for his phone bill/ privileges & $3 a month for his xBoxLive membership. He's ALSO responsible for paying 1/2 of any "big" thing he wants (like he paid $400 for our puppy... it was $800 projected for adoption fees + 6mo of veterinary care + food.) And when he wanted his own/ a new computer... he had to save for 3 years to save up the $500 for 1/2 of it. He also pays 1/2 for "treats". Like if he and I go to the movies or out to lunch, he pays for half. Things he wants like toys, he pays 100% of the cost (excluding xmas and bdays).

By the time he's 14, his allowance will be considerable... but by then he will ALSO be paying for

- All HIS bills
- 1/3 of the household bills
- going rate for renting a room (to be put into savings for when he moves out on his own... in our area *currently* that's about $300 a month)
- All his clothes
- All of his school supplies
- All of his sports costs
- All of his lesson costs

As you can see from reading all the responses there is a great deal of variance from how families do things. Myself... I was not only never given an allowance, but when I worked, my paycheck went to the family. For my son... we're doing it almost opposite (the way other members of my family have done it, just not my parents).

So there's no "should" in regards to chores & allowance. Merely family practice.

Hello, well all I have to say is if this list of chores is true is Cinderella has lost her job. You should be spending 2 hours a night on homework and playing with friends, not on chores. What do your parents do, sit and watch you clean, there doesn't seem like there could be anything dirtly enough to clean. I used to be a clean freak, but after 26 years of marriage, 2 children and many different animals, life is to short to get caught up in cleaning all the time and not enjoying life. My children have chores every week that may take them 1/2 hour to 45 minutes a week to complete. As I said before, if this list is true, your parents need to consider paying for a service and letting you enjoy your childhood.

Wow that is alot of chores. Do your parents do any?? Sounds like you do most of the housework there. I would charge them by the hour. I would go atleast for $7 an hour. The five bucks a week is pitifull. But I would tell them you are going to put half of what you earn away to save.

My daughter is 7 and in 2nd grade and she does not get paid to do the basic things you mentioned (cleaning your room, dishes, laundry,trash, dust, mop/sweep), it is part of her being a member of the family and helping out. If she were to do a special project or help out like rake leaves, help shovel snow etc then she would be paid for that. She helped out on the farm over the summer, painted the fence, picked up sticks and was paid $20 for the day- we were out there most of the day too.
When I was growing up we did not get paid to clean up after ourselves and help out around the house either.

Wow you have a lot to do for one little girl. Honestly I think that maybe three or four tasks a day is enough for a kid your age. and if you are doing that much you should be getting more than 5 dollars a week. 10-15 I would say.

Hi Sierra,

My son is 14 and I give him $20 a month.

This "allowance" is not tied to his chores. It is easier for me to budget a set amount for his spending money rather getting hit with five dollars here and there throughout the month.

It is important that everyone in a household contribute to maintaining the household. Since it is just my son and me, we basically split the chores. He mows the lawn, does his own laundry, after dinner dishes, takes care of the dogs, mops, cleans the bathroom....whatever needs to be done we both do.

I will say that his homework and school work comes first. So if he has a project or tests coming up, he gets a free pass on chores so he can study.

If you feel that you are being asked to do too much around the house, and that your chores are affecting your study time, then you need to talk to your parents about your, and their, expectations. Since your M. is letting you use this forum to ask your question, then she should be open to talking to you about your chore list. As a M., I do feel that 2 hours a day spent on chores is excessive.

You seem like a thoughtful, articulate girl so I am sure that you and your M. can come to an agreement on this.

Merry Christmas!!!

Sierra, I think you are underpaid. I think it's good experience for you to do chores and I think there are a lot of kids who do chores and don't get paid. But you do a lot of chores for a 12 year old, IMO. So I think either your allowance should go up to $10, or you should be paid extra for some jobs, like the yard work. You should be very proud of yourself that you are so mature. (and your parents should be proud, too!)

Hi Sierra :-)

I would LOVE to hire you! :-) You sound very responsible and caring. I personally feel that I agree with several posts here, but I think they should be combined.

I agree that it is important to teach children responsibility and have them do chores as part of contributing to the family unit. I feel the amount of chores you are doing is "beyond" not only the normal chores a child your age should be doing, but also even while getting paid, still too many chores.

My opinion is to have those chores cut down in volume. Picking up after yourself is simple and paramount to self love and self caring, so that is not part of the allowance :-) Taking care of the family pet is a good one to toss in there as a learning and maturing experience, without pay.

But.. the other things you mention regarding generalized home duties, especially those on the outside like mowing and weeding the garden and cooking meals and snacks once a week are a bit much for a 12 year old who already has a TON of things on her plate, such as discovering who she is and how she fits into her social world around her, figuring out the changes in her physical body as she leaves the young child years and steps into the teenage years... I think the major chores need to be cut down and you pay increased to $10 a week.

Have a wonderful Holiday time and blessings to you and your family :-)
hugs,
A. R.N., Energy Medicine Practitioner

If you really do all of that I'd say more if they can afford it. Also what about schoolwork and other activities like sports? I don't see spending 2 hrs a DAY on this type of work when you are 12. If you wanted the dog then that work shouldn't count or keeping your room clean. Additional chores should not take up any more than 1hr a day in my opinion. Reduce the amount of work to 1hr a day (weekdays) and receive $10 a week for indoor chores and $5 for every hr you work outside

Sierra if you were doing these chores for a neighbor you'd be paid at least five dollars an hour. If you were my child I'd give you $20.00 per week minimum as that is what it takes to see a movie, go get pizza with friends and buy a few items.
Five dollars was okay in 1960. Your parents must be very old to think five bucks covers everything.

Hi Sierra,

You can tell your M. that me and a lot of other moms on here say 2 hours of chores per day is too much for a 12-year old. Heck, I'm almost 40 and I almost never do that much housework (and my son's only 5, so he doesn't help at all).

I also agree that allowance shouldn't be tied to chores.

What if you and your M. pick a few chores that you HAVE to do...say things that will take you 20-30 minutes per day? Then you can make a list of optional chores and put a price on them. That way you know you're always getting your allowance no matter what, but you also have the opportunity to earn more $ by doing extra chores.

It's up to you and your parents. Sorry, but that's just how it is.

When I was 12, I had to pick up the apples, help mow, help with dishes, take care of the pets and sometimes other things. I got paid $500 per year (so $10 a week with a two week vacation). But that was also in the '90's. :) My dad would put it directly in the bank for my sister and I.

My parents recognized that I was a kid and needed the freedom to be a kid, but also that I needed to learn how to take care of things and to be responsible. It seemed fair at the time and still seems like it was fair.

Hi, Sierra -

You have a lot of good, and widely varied, answers here. As many people said, I don't think there's one right answer, but I will tell you how we work things in my house. . .

We do not tie the allowance into chores for my 3 kids, except for the charging of "maid service": we have a chart, and on it I have listed how much I charge them when they leave their regular work undone. For example, on a daily basis, they should clean up their dirty laundry, take care of all their dishes from all meals and snacks, pick up toys and books in common living areas, turn off lights when leaving a room, and keep their bathroom neat. If these things aren't done, i may charge them a quarter or so of their weekly allowance for something like a dish left for me to wash - they are paying me to be their maid. In addition to their regular daily jobs, they have a list of weekly jobs that each does, but it is not tied into how much allowance they get; they know they need to do the job and what they don't complete by Saturday gets done before they have weekend privileges. My 10 and 13 year olds are required to wash, dry, fold and put away their own laundry every week, and even my 6 year old helps with other laundry. They all help with various laundry, cleaning and cooking jobs around the house each week.

Our allowances are based on age - $1/year/week. But I also take a minimum of 25% off the top of that, which goes into their college accounts. They are always asked if they'd like to put more than that in, and we as parents "double-match" their 25% as well as any extra donations.

I commend you for being such a great help around the house, Sierra. That is a lot of work for a 12 year old. Working is important, but I hope you're also able to take at least as much time each day just being 12 and having fun!

As many people stated, it's hard to judge whether your allowance is fair or unfair - it depends also on how much you are expected to buy for yourself, as well as how much extra $ your parents may give you to get something special from time to time. Every family is different, and there's no perfect answer in my opinion.

How great that your M. let you use this forum to get some ideas of what other families use. I hope you are able to work something out that both you and your parents think is fair! Good luck! :-)

Let's break this down -

Allowance - "a sum granted as a reimbursement or bounty or for expenses ". How much you get is up to your parents, but it sounds like it may be up for negotiation. You should discuss what your allowance is for exactly. Is it for reimbursement for "chores" (which chores specifically) or is it for expenses (i.e. clothes, movies, games, etc). Do your parents give you money if you want to go out with friends? Need or want clothes? Want a new game, music, toy?

Chores - The others are right. Everyone in the household is responsible to do their share and pick up after themselves. Cleaning your room, taking care of the dog, laundry, clean the bathroom, and making your snacks fall under this category.

Taking out the trash, dusting, mopping, and sweeping are middle ground. It isn't all your mess, but it does need to be done. I would consider these "chores". All outside yard work would also fall under this category.

Cooking all the meals, setting the table, AND doing all the dishes is excessive IF you are doing this for more than just yourself (i.e. serving your parents AND picking up after them too). Sorting the coupons is a surprising responsibility. Are you cutting the coupons too. It seems like your parents could/should probably just handle this themselves.

I am also going to ask, What are your parents doing to help out around the house, exactly?

Your parents might (I would assume) have 9 to 5 jobs, but so do you. Your job is to go to school, do your homework, study, get good grades, AND have a social life. You are 12 and a kid. The house work should be SHARED because you all are busy. If you are spending two hours a day on chores, then you have too many for one day.

In conclusion, is you allowance for (fair) compensation for the chores you do? Or is it for spending money? Is it supposed to fund all your "needs" (clothes, shoes, etc.) AND "wants" (movies, outings with friends, etc.)? Unfortunately, fair or not, what your parents say, goes. Personally, what is expected of you, as portrayed, sounds unfair. If your allowance is up for negotiation, get a game plan and figure out what seems fair to you. Maybe no more than an hour of housework a day, extra money you can earn for the "chores" (as decided between you and your parents), or an hourly rate. Even at $1.00 an hour, seven days a week, that would be $14 a week.

Good luck to you all!

Sierra,
When you list out all your chores and try to put a price on them it kind of makes you feel like you are a slave, doesn't it? As you see from previous answers there is a wide range of opinions about the subject of chores and allowance.
From your post it could sound like you do all of those things every day, and since I have 4 kids I'm imagining you doing them in my house. But actually, you are an only child, so you're not doing all this work for a family with a bunch of little kids who make 4 times the mess you do as an almost teenage girl by yourself. So, unless you and/or your parents drop everything and leave it where it lands and make messes, then your jobs probably aren't *too* tough.
What I'm getting at is that, as others mentioned, you will have a home of your own one day and you will be prepared to take good care of it. It won't feel so much like chores then, because it will be yours and no one else's and you will take pride in that. In this way your parents are doing a great job raising you to be a responsible young adult. My question for them is how much are they allowing you to just have fun and be a kid? Because you only have about 16 years of that before the next 70 being work and responsibility. Do they want a kid or a maid?
Also, to you, you show your love by doing what is asked of you without complaint. Receiving an allowance is another way your parents prepare you for being an adult on your own. If you've proven that you can give, save, and spend responsibly with what they've given you so far, then perhaps it's time to entrust you with more.
I am sorry this is so long, but I'd agree with a couple others who said that your allowance should not be tied to your chores (although sometimes it can be appropriate punishment to withhold an allowance if you've misbehaved somehow). Your parents should evaluate whether or not it's time to trust you with more. Your chores should be helping out around the house with room, pet, dishes, and laundry, and once a week house cleaning. If they want more than that, then they should decide whether this is really a job for their child, themselves, or hired help.
Blessings on your (calm & thoughtful!) discussions with your parents!

Wow, $40 a month is nice amount and that seems very reasonable to me especially if your chores are tied to your allowance. One possibility you could do is ask for a small raise. Since you said it takes you around 2 hours a day, I'm going on you doing that 7 days a week. At $5 a week, dividing it by 14 hours is about $0.35 an hour. You could possibly see if they would be amenable to bumping it up to $0.40 an hour or maybe even $0.50 which would make it $7 a week. It's always good to negotiate wages but I must say too that I never received an allowance at all and I did just as much as you do. All of my money came from baby sitting. My children's allowance isn't tied to their chores per se. They get it automatically and we calculate it based on their ages. They get one quarter per year per week. So for example my 8 year old gets 8 quarters a week which is approximately $8 a month. They have to do their chores regardless since a clean home leads to a sense of accomplishment and a happy family. I don't like tying allowance to chores since that's something that does have to be done and that leads the kids to expecting a return all the time which of course doesn't always happen. Once in a while a seasonal chore comes up such as raking leaves or watching a sibling and those jobs we do pay them for. When they receive their allowance, they choose how much to set aside for savings, Church and fun but they have to put some in all three categories. From there, it's only connected to their chores if they don't complete it at all and then depending on the chore they pay a small fine such as a nickle or quarter. Wasting time & resources costs money, which is why we do it this way. They don't like paying fines so they often get their chores done. We work on a chart system and depending upon their ages the chores rotate through all 4 of my children.

Wow! Thats a lot of chores!!! My kids are expected to do chores as a part of our family. They do not get paid for them just as I don't get paid for cooking their dinner. They do have a job though... School. So, the allowance they get is $1 per year of age per week. My 4 year old gets $4 a week, my 9 year old gets $9 per week. By this method, I think you should be getting $12 per week. My kids are required to put 10% in savings, 10% to a charity, and 10% to tithing. That leaves them 70% for spending money.

I don't know your M.'s financial situation, but I think you should get about $20 per week for everything you do!
And I agree with the person who said you should put half in savings!

Hi Sierra,
I have a 13 year old daughter and she gets $13 every two weeks ($1 for each year). But it is not tied to chores. I give my kids allowance so they don't bug me for things in the store and have spending money of their own. As for chores, there are different kinds. You shouldn't get paid for taking care of yourself like cleaning your room and doing your own laundry. Setting the table and preparing meals once a week also falls in this category because you get to eat the food. If the dog belongs to you personally and isn't the family dog than you should be taking care of it as well. But as for the other chores I feel they need to be divided between you and your parents. If your parents expect you to do all of them than you should expect to be paid extra. Sit down with you parents and agree and a charge for each chore.

I would say, first of all, bravo on you for helping your parents out with chores! Also, I think you are very lucky to get allowance at all. I know of a lot of children who do not get any allowance and are still required to do the chores you listed and more in some cases. Not that you want to hear this, either, but your parents are teaching you responsibility and you will appreciate it when you are older and have roommates and/or friends who have never had to do any chores and don't know how.

I think it is great that you are doing a wide variety of chores and I think you are blessed to receive an allowance. You have gotten a wide variety of responses, which is great because these moms come from all different backgrounds and socio-economic levels. That being said, I was raised on a farm and did several hours of household and farm related chores daily, all while receiving no allowance, Doing chores is part of living - we all create messes and we all need to contribute to cleaning and caring for our homes.
As a mother, I get paid to go to work, then I come home and do household related work at no pay. This is part of life. My child is 1.5 years old and she is just learning to pick up her own toys/books. She "helps" me cook by stirring or other simple tasks with alot of adult help. She also "helps" with diaper cleaning by taking her diapers to the bin, and taking her soiled diaper to the bathroom for me to clean out. These tasks are much more minor than the ones you are accomplishing, but as she gets older, her responsibilities around the home/yard will increase. We all need to contribute to our households and families that function as a team get more done with more time for everyone to persue their other interests.

Good luck!!

Sounds like your parents are teaching you a good work ethic and not to be afraid of hard work. You live there for free and most of your chores fall into what is regularly expected from kids your age. I would say extra money for mowing, raking and weeding and coupon clipping would be in order tho, maybe an extra 10 bucks for that.

we used to do all that and more when I was younger, and we got $2.00 a week... IF we did them all with no complaining. If it was our own mess (your room, your dog, your laundry) we were expected to keep it clean. If it was a 'family mess' (dusting, dishes, floor, lawn, etc.) then we shared the chores. We got paid for doing the 'extra' stuff (painting, working in the garden, babysitting siblings, etc.)