Allowance - Louisville,KY

I was confused about allowances too. I am a big Dr. Sears supporter. His book, "How to Raise a Successful Kid" advises not to give out allowances for chores around the house. He says mom don't get paid for doing the dishes and neither should kids.

Every contributing member of the household gets access to their own money. To me, it isn't working for an allowance, tasks are just necessary parts of life, and the weekly allowance is just a side effect of being a member of a household.

You do not get an allowance for being part of a family. Being part of the family means, you help around house. You pick up,clothes, put laundry away, help with dishes, setting the table, etc. no payment for being part of a team!

I had an allowance as a kid, and I give an allowance. Not much, but enough so that my kids have a little something to put in their piggy banks, to put in the collection plate at church and to buy a treat. I also reserve the right to withhold allowance if my kids aren't doing their jobs (cleaning up after themselves, homework, chores). When my kids ask for a new toy I like to be able to say "why don't you save up your allowance for it?". If they want a treat I can say "buy it with your allowance." They can use their allowances for things like dances, or my son in middle school likes to buy lunch in the school cafeteria sometimes. They have to budget for these things. They learn how to manage money and how to save up for things they want. By the time they are able to get actual jobs to earn their own money, they will already know how to manage it.

ETA: As for the idea that an allowance creates entitlement, I see it as exactly the opposite. A child who receives an allowance and has to save up for treats and toys learns about delayed gratification and budgeting. A parent who simply provides a child with the same treats and toys teaches the child to be entitled, that they get something for nothing.

ETA: As a SAHM I had spending money, despite the fact that I did not work outside the home.

My son is six and we wanted him to learn how to save/spend, instead of just waiting for us to buy him toys, so he gets a small allowance of a dollar a week for doing his basic jobs (self-care, homework) and 'family' jobs (setting table, recycling, things he helps with because he is a part of the family). That said, if he wants to earn money for desired toys, he is welcome to do 'dollar jobs' which are tasks which make my life easier-- emptying buckets of yard debris when I'm gardening, clearing up an area outside, vacuuming, dusting the handrails/exterior trim from time to time, things of that nature. It's been great for him to earn his Lego sets, he's very proud of himself for doing all of the work and likes that he doesn't have to wait for a holiday or birthday to get a toy he might want. In this year I would have to say he's earned more toys than we've given him and I think he values them more because he knows that if he's careless with them-- well, it's a lot of jobs to replace it!

ETA: I should also say that he doesn't get birthday or Christmas money, so that's not available for him to save.

.... its really up to you.
How old, are your kids?
Are they expected to buy their own things/toys/goodies, for example?
And if so, then how and with what money?

"Allowance" per say, is also something that "teaches" a child about money management. Of course the parent, has to teach them. Kids nowadays, learn all of this at earlier ages. ie: budgeting, how to allocate their money, doing charitable "donations", saving for something special, saving for just saving overall, etc.
So an "allowance" can teach them these things. Me and my Hubby teaches, our kids these things.

And if they have other money streams, like money received from Birthdays or Christmas, then that is all a part of their "savings."
Allowances can also teach kids about actually having, an account. Custodial accounts etc. And the process, of how money is saved or spent etc.

For us, we have recently started giving our kids allowance. It is not for doing "nothing." My kids, do chores. They always have. It is NOT tied, to their allowance. Because, chores and helping in the house is something ALL family members do. Not because you get "paid" to do it. It is just a part of doing, for your family and helping. And chores is not something that only the kids do, but then the Husband doesn't have to do it nor the Mom. ALL family members, has household responsibilities, in the home. Its not "fair" if a kid is supposed to do chores, when a parent doesn't do it either. For example. My kids know that.

However, if my kids don't do what they are supposed to do... ie: homework, studying, chores, behaving nicely, keeping up grades, then they do not get their allowance. They know that too.

Allowance in our house, is that they receive half, of their age.
So say your kid is 6. Then the "allowance" would be $3/week.
Or you can do it monthly. Or bi-monthly.

For us, an "allowance" SERVES TO TEACH our kids, about money management and about where it goes and why.
And we teach our kids that.
And they use their money, wisely. They even use their own money to buy their friend's Birthday gifts.
Giving our kids allowance, is not gratuitous. And my kids don't have an attitude about it. They know there is a criteria, for it.

If you attach allowance, to "chores." Then, the next question is: is EVERYONE in the home and family, doing chores too? In many homes, the Husband doesn't even do anything. But the kids are expected to and to pick up the slack. For us, it doesn't matter if a person works or is at home... EVERYONE has RESPONSIBILITIES in the home. Chores. Upkeep of the home. This is not tied, to allowance.
But if you connect chores to allowance, then, you should all get "paid" to do them. Too.

Check out this info from Sesame Street Workshop about teaching this age group about finances ...

http://www.sesamestreet.org/parents/topicsandactivities/t...

I am wondering if this is an "interpretation" problem. What does she mean by "doing nothing"? Is she saying that they shouldn't do anything to help in the house as part of the family? Does she think you should do everything in the house for them, like you are the maid and they are your boss? Or is she saying that they should have a regular allowance as they clean up their toys and rooms, do age appropriate little chores that you give them and help everytime you ask?

What you DON'T want to do is make them think that in order to do any chores, they have to be paid for it. I read something somewhere that I thought was really good. A mom asked her kid to do something and he said he wanted to get paid for it. The mom sat down with a piece of paper and wrote a list (you can just imagine how long the list was) of things she did for her son and the home, and she put a dollar figure beside each thing. The end said something like "love my son for free". She gave the list to him and he got up and did what she asked.

The thing is, I'm wondering from what you said if you are just trying to get a certain answer to fuss at your mom for. So, ask her if she means that your kids shouldn't have to learn to be productive members of the family, or if she just means that they shouldn't have to ask for money to do chores, that you would give them an allowance instead. An allowance teaches them how to manage money (if you help them). It teaches them how to budget for what they want to save up for and what they want to buy today. It also helps them feel like part of the family. After all, their parents work and make money for working, and they can feel this way too.

No weekly allowance in our house for the day-to-day responsibilities (putting clothes in hamper, feeding the pets, getting the chicken eggs, clearing the table, picking up toys and bedroom). But, my kids do have an opportunity to earn $ by doing extra things/bigger jobs. This past weekend my oldest wanted to earn some $ b/c he is trying to save up to buy a Kindle Fire so he put away all my summer flower pots, picked up both porches of clutter and put away all my led lights for winter. I gave him $5.

I know others feel differently but to me, allowances are paying kids to exist. Not our thing.

I also don't like paying kids for chores that simply need to get done to keep the household running day to day. That sends them a message that they should get money for doing things that are just necessary so that they aren't living with overflowing trash cans or laundry on the floor. The "payment" for those chores, to me, is a liveable house.

My child is older, 12, so she does get paid for larger, extra chores that are not needed daily but which are more work. Example: Emptying the pantry, sorting through items and reorganizing it. Or doing the same with the linen closet. Or other big things that are great to do but not tasks that are daily, essential chores, yet these tasks are ones I really do value her doing, so she gets anywhere from $5 to $15 for certain ones. But it might be months before she does that same chore again.

She gets money from relatives for gifts at holidays, etc. and she saves that and her occasional (but substantial) chore money. She's good at knowing what she has and how she wants to spend it and what she needs to save to get something she wants. Kids do not have to have a weekly allowance to learn financial responsibility. I know other families love allowances and see them as teaching finances, and that's fine for them, but not something we do.

We do do things a bit different here. My kids are 5 and 8. Chores are not paid to do. I do not get paid to cook and clean and they are part not of this family so they need to do things without being paid its team work. Every month they are given 20.00 and 10.00 of that goes right into their savings account. That account is to teach them how to save so it is rarely touched. They use it to buy each other a christmas gift and sometimes something they want that is expensive like a nook hd+. The other 10.00 is their to spend as they wish BUT.... they are expected to do normal household chores which rotate and change as they grow. Each "chore" is assigned a value and if they choose not to do it they may opt to pay their sibling or me to do it....like making their own bed is 1.00, unloading the dishwasher is .75 and so on. Let me tell you the first month or so my son paid for everything to be done for him and when he had the chance to buy one of his toys on sale and had no money....he learned. Rarely now do I have to remind them to do things and they usually have cash to spend. Im a single mom so I cant do it all on my own and they need to learn mommy is not a money tree. They also know that the whole "I left my money at home" comes at a price.... they either wait to buy the item or they have to pay the bank interest on their loan... kinda harsh but trust me they learn fast!

My boys get allowance every week, but it is certainly not for doing nothing. They have to keep their rooms clean and keep the entry area straight every day. They have to do the dishes every day. And once a week they clean one of the bathrooms, help sweep, mop, and vacuum the floors, dust, and change their own bedding. Any chore that is not done correctly, that I have to finish, or that they simply fail to do, counts against them at the end of the week when we decide how much of the possible total amount they have earned. Then, we take 20% and put that into saving (which I match half of, along with matching half of any extra money they decide to contribute to savings) that they can have access to when they go to buy their first car. It teaches them about responsibility, getting paid for work and only getting what you have earned, as well as about savings and interest.

My husband and I never got allowances.
We did chores because everyone who lives at home pitches in.
Our son doesn't get an allowance.
He does chores for the same reason we did.
He gets to hold onto Christmas and birthday money.
He never spends it on anything - which is great.
Nobody ever gets paid to clean their own toilet - a clean toilet is it's own reward.
For great behavior and grades I never tell him 'no' at the book store and I get him what ever he wants - he loves to read.
The only thing allowances do is to train up little consumers to spend spend spend before they have any idea how hard it is to earn money.
I don't like the entitlement it seems to generate in the kids I know that receive allowances.

Our children received allowances. They were encouraged to save a little, give a little and spend a little. We even had notebooks, so they could keep a log. It was more than some families and less than most, but it was their money to learn to deal with.

I put 5 dollars in my children's trust funds every week, however I give them 5 dollars a week only if they do all their chores and are well behaved all week too.

My kids are 6 and 11. My 11yo is just now starting to do what I call chores (doing dishes, helping with laundry, sweeping living room, feeding animals) those types of things. My 6yo helps with feeding the animals and unloading the dishwasher.

I do not pay them.....they earn privileges such as playing video games, riding their quads, or going out with friends. I also keep track and if they have not given my an issues with doing these things I allow them to pick something to do on a weekend as a family or to buy something at a store while out.

If they give me problems and I have to fight them to get these things done they lose privileges and do get to pick what they want to do. There is no reason to give children money for no reason.....I believe that this is one of the problems in todays society, kids expect something for doing nothing.

I blogged about this a while ago...but we still do it. Have been doing it for about 10 years now: http://heyyougetreal.com/momblog/money-and-kids/

DO NOT pay your kids for the sake of being kids...pay them a salary based on their "responsibility" of being a kid.

B.

No regular allowance. We pay for a base of clothes, food and fun and then if they want more (especially the teen) they do extra chores.

I think all kids should contribute towards the family work load without any pay. Then as they grow it's good to have ways for them to earn for the extras and learn a little money management. I find it is a great help to me as well. My oldest is quite capable and her extra help in our home and business is appreciated.

Yes.
I got an allowance & my kids get an allowance commensurate w/their
age.
It teaches them to work for money, to save & how to spend wisely.
Now, having said that, they are still expected to do regular things just
because like putting away their toys, shoes, fold clothes, pick up etc.
Allowance would be for "extra" chores.

My kids get $10 twice a month moved into their savings accounts straight from my paycheck. It's an automatic transfer. It was $5, and we just moved it to $10. We may move it up again in the future.

My kids don't have their allowance tied to chores...they do those because they are part of our family and have responsibilities.

The $ they get into their savings accounts is just because they are good kids and we think they deserve a little something, because they are so good. They rarely use it. My 8 year old has the most money, my 10 year old has the next amount, and the 6 year old has the least. They put $ in there too from birthday's and Christmas gifts.

I think it's a personal family value and choice. I never saw the need to give my kids money, I mean, they didn't need it and they rarely asked for it (Christmas & birthday money usually lasted a while.) They had plenty of food, toys, clothing, etc. and we ALL had chores that nobody paid us for, that's just part of being a family.
Once they got a little older, around 10 or 11 they started wanting more, video games, fancy shoes, stuff like that. At that point we just assigned them extra chores (bigger stuff like garage and yard work) and within a few years they were babysitting and pet sitting and earning their own money.

No allowances here.

My kids earn their allowance.
My son is 9 years old and takes the garbage and recycling to the can as needed throughout the week as well as taking the cans to the street and back on garbage days. He gets paid $3/week.
My daughter is 6 years old and swiffers under furniture once a week and helps with laundry (helping load and fold) and gets paid $3/week.

These are additional chores to the ones they are expected to do to contribute to the household. I feel that kids should learn about the value of money and not just be given it.

My daughter has been saving her money for a Lallallopsy doll for the past few weeks. My son was saving his money to pre-order the new Wimpy Kid book.

I don't think kids should get paid for doing chores. I think they should either get a little bit of spending money for junk they want. They can still have assigned chores though.

Nope. No allowance here. Chores are just a part of being in our family...we all have to do our part to keep things running smoothly. When they get older and the chores are harder we may consider it, but not now. If they want to buy things, they have to save their birthday/ holiday money. Or do special jobs to earn it. Last time my son was saving for something, he got a job to collect the mail and trash for neighbors while they were out of town. $5 a week...not bad for a five year old. :) Now it's a regular gig for him when neighbors head out of town.