Allowances for 6 and 10 Year Olds

I think one of the most important lessons we can teach our children is the value of money. I never had those lessons growing up and it has cost me.

I also don't believe a child should be paid for chores or for grades. I once gave my daughter a dollar for doing something above and beyond without complaining. She asked what it was for and I explained. The next thing, she was asking how much to feed the cat and to clear the table. Not the response I was going for! I also did not want to always nag her about helping me out around the house.

I've been giving my daughter an allowance for about a year and she is 6.5 yrs old. It hasn't meant a whole lot to her...but she is saving for an American Girl doll. There are times when we are in a store and she wants something. If I am on the fence, I ask her if she wants it bad enough to spend her money on it and if she does, I will let her buy it with her money if it isn't too expensive.

I give allowance for being a good citizen of the home and school. I felt this was less likely to create an environment of "you owe me because I did something". She is required to put 1/3 into charity, 1/3 into long-term savings and 1/3 into her spending money. She is still young so most of the non-charity has been toward the long term savings.

Her allowance gets docked if I haven't liked her behavior or attitude over the week.

As she gets older, I think it will be important to outline what she is responsible for paying with her allowance or wages from a job. I think that time will come when she is a teenager.

I don't think you should ask family to contribute. I think they should give a gift of their choice. My girl does occasionally receive money as gifts and I let her decide what to do with it. She doesn't have to divide that up for charity.

There are so many ways to spin this that you will have to do what is right for your family. Good luck to all of us so maybe our children won't need the bailouts so many do today!

I loved your question! And I loved Joana's response. I'm along the same lines. My children are too young yet, but I plan on separating allowances from household responsibilities. I read John Rosemond who writes articles/books about back to basics child rearing. This is a blurb I found on his theory on allowances, of which I will be following when the time comes.

"Allowances are fine as long as they are not connected to the child's responsibilities around the home. In other words, an allowance should not be used as either a reward for doing chores or a punishment for failing to do them. Properly given, an allowance can help a child learn to manage money...we established checking accounts for each of [our children]...They were responsible for purchasing their own nonessential clothing and any recreation that did not involve other family members."

I think your children may be a bit young for some of what he discusses, but the idea is the same. They are saving up for something and you are doing an awesome job demonstrating how to do it. Good for you. My thoughts are you should start small, amount wise, to help get them started. I also like the idea of docking any for bad attitudes during the week. Good luck.

I don't believe in giving allowances because kids should realize that since they live in the home, they have responsibility to help keep the home clean. However, we paid our children for doing extra chores such as washing the car or shining Dad's shoes, or mowing the grass. They felt good about working extra projects to earn money rather than routine house cleaning. Never pay the child until the job is done and done well, Otherwise you teach them to be careless. Your children are really going to appreciate getting the Wii after working for it awhile. What a great life lesson you are teaching them! AF

My daughters (8 & 12) get 1/2 of their age in dollars for their allowance ($4 & $6) every Sunday. My husband & I go to the bank and to get enough money for a few months at a time b/c that used to be our breakdown in consistency; we would be out of cash. The girls use their money to buy things that are extra--- extra clothes, toys, etc.. THis has eliminated them nagging me to buy things that I really don't have the budget to get for them. If they want it and I approve, then they use their own money. They have chores around the house, but the chores aren't linked to their allowance. THey help b/c they are a member of the family. I do charge them a $1 if they talk back or if I have to ask them to do a chore 3 times. They have to pay me immediately. Good luck!

I think it's ok to pay kids an allowance for chores. We have a motivation problem with our son, and I think money will help get the job done.

I definitely think that chores such as keeping their rooms clean, helping set the table, taking care of pets,etc. should be considered family responsibilities. I have a 6 and 8 year old, and they only receive their allowance when they do "extra" chores such as taking out the trash, vaccuming their rooms (my 8 year old does this but my 6 year old is too small to push the vacuum, so he uses a handheld vac for smaller messes), or helping me with the laundry by putting away their own clothes. Mine get two dollars per week, paid on friday. I'll probably raise it as they get older and they're able to handle more, but they're happy with that at this point.

I think you're doing a fantastic thing by teaching them the responsibility of saving for something that they really want. So many parents just cave in and buy their children anything they ask for, and the kids never learn the value of money or to appreciate the things they have. Yours will. Congrats!

all aof these questions are up to you. we can tell you what we do or think but ultimetly its what you decide not what america does. but to me giving money to your kid for doing a job on something he DIDNT have to do would deserve "credit" for it. now i would just say thanks but if you are trying to find ways to give them money this would be the time. do they have normal chores they do now? if so i wouldnt include them but if they get them all done without you having to ask and can find something else thats not on that list i would give money. how much is hard to say. if they mowed the lawn it would be the going rate you would have paid the boy down the street to do it. wash the car..maybe 5 to 10 depending on how well they can do it. you can definetely tell friends and family that you are saving for a wii fit and if they would like to give money towards that instead of getting a gift at the next birthday or christmas that it would be appreciated but of course dont expect them to.

Great questions, and I am really curious to see the advice. My oldest, 5, I think is too young for this issue. I guess that I personally believe, like the last psoter, that household chores are just that. Everyone in the family does them and none of us gets paid for it. My husband and I work outside the home, and our kids will go to school. Those are our jobs. Because the adults make the money, we will provide the basics - food, clothes, basic entertainment, etc. But beyond that is what I dtruggle wiht. I think wha tyou are doing is GREAT! But I feel like an allowence is not a good thing. I like the idea of extra money for truly extra out of the normal expected chores. But I don't know if there is a better way to deal with the "allowence" issue?

Starting at age six, I give my children their age in dollars per month. They get it on the "monthaversary" of their birthday-- every month on the 2nd or the tenth or whenever their number is. They have to remember to ask for it. On each birthday, they get the opportunity to have some of the allowance held in their college account. We double anything they choose to put in for the year. I do not ask that they do anything for their allowance and I don't withold it. I occasionally refuse to let them buy something I don't want in their body or in my house.

They do not get paid for basic family chores -- they often need to pick up their own stuff, clean their rooms, set the table, "swoosh their plates," sweep the kitchen, help with laundry, etc. We have a checklist before "screen time" that consists of basic hygiene, a room zone, putting away a small pile of laundry, and finishing homework.

They can get paid for beyond-the-norm sorts of jobs -- cleaning out something that's been neglected for too long, vacuuming the car by themselves, mowing the lawn, washing walls, throwing all the expired food in the pantry away, etc. After ten, we put twenty dollars a month into their college account and expect them to earn their spending money. My son got a job as a little league umpire at twelve. My daughter started lifeguarding at fifteen.

If you are proud of how they are saving, adding a little interest with an explanation of why you are doing it right now may be fine. I wouldn't encourage relatives unless asked, and even then I'd make it one of several thoughtful options.

I also have to warn you, once my children saved for and bought their own addictive video games, it really changed our home life.

What a terrific way for young children to learn how to save money for a large purchase! This lesson if encouraged and properly executed will help teach your children the importance of not spending what they don't have (not to use credit cards).
The wii fit is also an excellent tool to encourage excersizing, especially in the colder months, and a much better choice than a regular video game console (xbox, nintendo, etc).
You will find yourself participating, I am sure, once they have it.

my kids had a modest allowance and a healthy list of chores they were expected to help with. we didn't make a big deal about tying them together, but in retrospect i wish i'd have been clearer that the chores were expected no matter what. i do think kids should learn early about money management and budgeting, and i REALLY think chores are important.
i really like your thoughtful question.
in your kids' case i'd start a small allowance, make it clear that family and household obligations are just that, what's expected of them and not tied to the allowance. but then i'd also make extra money-making chores available to them when you can. i would also let relatives contribute if they'd like but make it clear that they are also equally free to give gifts of their own choice.
:) khairete
S.

It might be good to give them birthday money, and then they can choose to buy something else, or to add it to the pot. I think it would be fine to mention to others that they are saving for a big gift and you think they'd appreciate money that could possibly go towards that. Not sure about the allowance amounts.