Chores & Allowance for Your Kids?

Hi micky-

I am of a mind that certain 'chores' are part of 'activities of daily living'...and consequently part of being a family...LIKE...laundry... tidying up individual rooms...setting/clearing table at meals...meal prep...(you know...the basics...as per their age). These things get no $$ reward here. I also (to the extent I can) give them $$ for things like Bday gifts for friends...$$ for movies, bowling, dance/sports/music things.

Bday/holiday $$ they receive is THEIRS...and I do pay for 'extras' that they 'could do' (or I would hire someone) such as stack wood from trees we had removed...paint trim & shutters on the house...wash cars...etc

That gives them extra $$ to manage...and perpetuates ownership of our home.

Best Luck!
michele/cat

14 year olds can do many things.
Of course give them chores.

My kids are 5 and 9. They have chores.
But... we do not give them money for it. Because, chores are something that a person does, adult or child, in order to help the family and to take care of the house. And they are a part of the family. And it is being a responsible individual, IN the family, of which they are a part of.

My 9 year old can vacuum, mop, dust, do dishes, do laundry, cook, plan meals and the grocery list, wash the car, water the yard, put things away.
My 5 year old can dust, wipe tables, put away, clean up things from the floor, put away shoes, mop etc.
My 9 year old will even wash the windows and screens.

We have a 14 year old son, and he does a ton around here. He loves to cook, so he often helps to cook meals, and sometimes cooks meals entirely on his own. If he cooks, he also cleans the kitchen.

He also vacuums, dusts, feeds the dog, folds laundry and puts away clothes, and cleans the boys' bathroom (toilet, shower, sink, everything).

We don't pay him for these things. As others have mentioned, it's just part of being a family member. Our 8 year old also helps a ton, and we don't pay him either. Both boys can do extra chores if they want to earn some extra money, but those chores are more difficult, or more unpleasant, such as raking pig poop (we live on a farm), helping to cut down dead trees and chop up/stack/haul away the firewood, clean out the garden, help change the oil in the tractor, etc.

Also, our 14 year old is going to work in a friends' parents' warehouse this summer to earn some extra money. He will save at least 1/3 of what he makes. We want our kids to have the opportunity to learn to manage money, but don't pay an allowance because we want them to understand that some things need to be done simply because we are part of a family. It takes everyone working together for things to work smoothly. So far this system has worked well for us. I hope you find a system that works well for you.

I do exactly the same as Catwalk W. There are things my 11 year old does and we call that "the price of living" in our house. Up until this past year, it was mostly just self-care and helping me out - like helping me get dinner, or helping me unload the dishwasher.

Now that she's older and more capable, I added on some things like unloading the entire dishwasher or doing laundry that isn't hers (like the towels).

She can "earn" money by doing things, basically, that I don't want to do (lol) like clean my bathroom (for $5 she has to clean tub, sides of tub, toilet - entire bowl and wipe outside as well as round base, sweep and mop floor, clean mirror, clean sink and counter, wash and rehang display towels, empty trash and wash the trash can). She can do that at least once a week. We have a 'community bathroom' that she can also clean once a week in the same manner also for $5.
She can sweep and mop the kitchen floor for $2 and she could do that every other day, if she wanted. She could vaccum the upstairs for $2, and she can do that every other day (4x a week).

So, her *earning potential* each week would be $26 if she did absolutely everything as often as she is allowed.

***** however, all homework, practice and *her* stuff has to be done before she can earn any money. So, she doesn't have time some weeks if she is studying extra for a test or she has extra homework or whatever. Realistically she probably *earns* $40/month.

Pretty much this is her ONLY money, unless she gets money for gifts. I set a budget for clothes. Once it's gone, she buys anything else she wants. If she wants to "upgrade" (ie, I set a budget of $100 for summer clothes. She wanted Abercrombie shorts..... that was 1/2 her budget. she had to pick if she wanted 1 pair of shorts and basically 1 swimsuit..... or shop at Target and get stuff on sale and more stuff.)
If we go to a movie - I pay for everyone's admission. She's not dating yet or really even doing much with friends just them without adults.... so we haven't had to cross that bridge yet.

At 14 they should be responsible for quite a bit...

They are capable of keeping up with dishes, their laundry, vaccuming, dusting, etc. Im not saying give it all to them but a couple of those things. My four year old knows if he doesn''t pick up his toys and the dog chews it up...oh well. If he can't find something he didnt put away so usually he's on his own to find it.
Your 14 year old should be keeping up with his own room and things. Putting his/her own dishes in the sink. Dirty laundry where it belongs etc. As far as allowance...thats hard. Depends on what you can afford. Allowance is a great tool to teach them the value of a dollar

we came up with a set allowance of 5 bucks per kid per week (they are 5 and 7 so its a lot in my opinion) so they have the opportunity to make 20 bucks a month which for a 5 and 7 year old is quite a bit. They have their daily duties to tidy up their toys off the floor but mine is more of a behavioral thing. If they do something that warrents me to deduct a buck I do so, and they can earn their dollar back. So you can always set an weekly/monthly allowance write up a chart of what needs done (a 14 year old can do a lot I think I was doing dishes, vacuuming, dusting, and even doing toilets at 14) I got 2 bucks a month but that was a while ago and thats all my parents could do. you can have what you would like done per week and if its not met then deduct money. for 14 if you could afford it I would do 10 bucks a week that should be enough to cover movies, fun stuff with friends but they would have to pay for all the unnecessary stuff they are wanting. and if they dont do everything you deduct as you see fit.

We do a mix of both styles mentioned below. We have family chores we expect them to do because they are part of the family: bring down laundry, put away laundry, pick up their rooms and any of their things in the rest of the house; they are not paid for these. We have set chores they must complete to earn their allowances: feed dogs, pick up dog doo in yard, wipe table after meals, and vacuum. My 10 yo can earn $9, $2 to savings, $1 to tithe, and $6 to spend. My 8 yo can earn $7, $1 to save, $1 to tithe, and $5 to spend. If all of their chores are done they can do extra chores for extra money.