OT - Allowances

[bubba]

I'm hoping the mums and dads on this board can give me some answers to my questions. We want to start giving DS10 and DS5 an allowance. My older son is alway wanting the newest video games etc. We don't give in at all, but we're thinking to make this a 'learning moment'. Teaching him he has to earn his pocket money and he needs to spend it responsibly. Does anyone here give their kids an allowance ? What chores were they doing at similar ages to my 2 ? How much were you giving them ? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really in the dark here ! Thanks again !

 

[Ellester]

Our older 2 get allowance. DD10 gets $5 a week and DD7 gets $3, we go up a dollar each birthday. DD10 takes out the garbage/recycling and DD7 sets the table. They both help clear the table, do the dishes, sweep the kitchen, etc. after dinner (Dh and I do help). They put their own laundry away and (supposedly) clean their bathroom and rooms. I also have them vacuum from time to time and do other random things. DS4 doesn't get allowance yet, but I do give him a $ or two from time to time to keep him happy. We started it several years ago with our oldest dd, I think we started with $2 a week. It is nice to be able to say "sure, if you want to spend your own money", it has cut down on requests quite a bit. Between allowance and birthday/Christmas money, DD10 bought her own Nintendo DS. They buy snacks when we go to the park, an occasional article of clothing, nail polish, Webkinz, whatever they want really. They have learned pretty quickly that if they spend it all on junk, they will never have enough for the big stuff they really want. We don't necessarily tie the allowance to chores, they are expected to do their chores just because they are part of the family, not because we pay them. Allowance is just a way for them to have a little of their own discretionary cash.

DD10 has a notebook that is dated each Friday and I sign when I give her the money. That way there is no "you never gave me allowance five weeks ago"! She is responsible for keeping track of the book and bringing it to me. I keep track of DD7's in my day planner, she is not quite ready to keep track of a book but I'm sure we will go that route eventually.

 

[imthatgirl]

my kids are 8,4 and 3. my 3yo doesnt have chores yet other than just helping out. my 8yo does have chores. but, these are not what earns her an allowance. she has to keep her room clean, dust on wednesdays and load the dishwasher on tues and thurs. my 4yo has to keep his room clean, bring the recyclables out and load the dishwasher on wed.
these chores are what we expect of them as being part of a family.
allowance is seperate from this. my 8yo gets $5 a week and my 4yo gets $3 a week. they get the allowance by being good children. if they fight or get mean with each other their allowance is docked. if they want money they earn it by cooperating i guess.
but, if they were to loose their allowance because of some rivalry they might have they would still have to do their chores, and when the chores are done they wouldnt have earned the allowance.

 

[karynnix]

My kids get $4.00/week. They are responsible for keeping their stuff picked up and being respectful at all times. Everytime that I have to remind one of them to pick something up or to stop arguing, they get a tally. Each tally costs them 25 cents. It has really cut down on the clutter!!

 

[Stephres]

My six year old cleans her room (including making her bed and picking up her toys elsewhere in the house), does her homework, practices the piano, reads for 15 minutes and miscellaneous tasks (help set the table when I ask, etc.). My nine year old does all that plus walks and cleans up after his dog. I made a chart so they can check off each chore when it is done. They can't play or watch tv until their chores are finished.

I give them both $5.00 and they take 50 cents to sunday school. My daughter spends it as soon as it gets into her hot little hand, but my nine year old just opened a savings account with $25 of his money. He is so excited to save and earn interest (tiny little bit that he will get).

I think the best part is when I am shopping they don't bug me to buy them anything. The worst part is that I have to stop myself from buying them anything, lol!

 

[bubba]

Thanks for the responses. I'm happy to see that others believe chores should be done because thats what family members do, and not because they are paid for them. I like the idea of docking them for fighting, etc. Hmmm ... maybe that will put an end to the squabbling ? No, I don't think so either, but it may cut it down a bit !

 

[ILuvCrush]

My kiddos age 13 10 and 7 each get $1/week for each birthyear... sooooo $13 $10 and $7 repectively. The caveat is that they have to but at LEAST 25% of that (1 week/month) into a savings account. My 10yo puts about half hers in!! They get allowance w/o regard to chores, but, for example, if DD(10) wants to go to the movies with her friends....I'll give her $for the tix, but candy/soda/popcorn is up to her to buy. DS13 loves video games...so he pays the $15/mo gamefly rental....that sort of thing.

My kids ARE expected to do chores b/c they are part of the family (I OFTEN remind them that I don't get paid to do their laundry, so they shouldn't either ) Including pet care, dishes, folding/putting away laundry, and DH favorite...picking up the sticks from the yard and dumping the grass clippings in the woods


Paula

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

My kids are 10 & 8. They get $7.00 each per week. They must do chores as well as part of the family. They get allowance for behavior and attitude. If they get three x's they loose their allowance. One x they loose 1.00 plus they loose video games and computer for two days. Second x they loose another $1.00 and another consequence. Third x and they completely loose their allowance are grounded, but still must do all their chores. They must save one week for our next Disney trip and the next week they can spend or save. Their chores are unloading the dishwasher, feeding our dog, putting away their laundry, bringing all dirty laundry down, including mine and my DH. They must also empty all 10 garbage's, do the recycling, clean their rooms and toy room and make their lunches (I recheck them). They are great about it and immediately stop doing what they are doing and do their chores when ever I ask. We have done this for a couple years and I works great!! I agree, it helps stop the asking for things as they know they need their own money for wanted items. It was great when we went in July to WDW. Between what they saved in allowance and birthday money, they each had $275.00 to spend when we went. They are now saving for our WDW Christmas trip. I has helped with the sibling fights and behavior. It also makes them learn how to be responsible and manage their money.

 

[mommy-on-the-move]

We only give our eldest an allowance, she's 11 in a few weeks and she gets around $8.50 a week (we're in the UK, she gets £5 a week which is around 8.50/9) It might sound like alot for an 11 year old but it costs around $12-$15 to go to the cinema in our town, the magazines she reads work out at around $4.50 each, a new release game for her nintendo DS is between $45-$60 (In fact at Downtown Disney she picked up a new DS lite, 4 games and a big accessory pack for what she'd pay for just the DS and one game here!) a good paperback book somewhere between $12-15 (and she reads a tremendous amount) so it's all relative.

We provide for the younger three - DD11 will get candy etc when the others do but anything extra outside of what we'd normally buy she has to save for and she has to pay for her own social life too. My mother saves around $2 a week for the younger three for vacation each year and $5 for the oldest (they raise in rate with her when they hit middle school) but they don't touch that until we go on vacation.

We don't do cash for chores either, everyone pitches in with chores in our house because we're a family and we all want to live in a nice house, it's not just mom who wants to be able to eat, sit down, play etc and mommy is a mother not a housemaid

We work on a basic expectation of how a decent young woman should behave- she's expected to be kind, polite, helpful, mindful of her younger siblings, display patience with her brother who has ASD, make an effort at school, take pride in her appearance and show respect to everyone until they do something to dictate otherwise... I think we've had one week where she's not lived up to those expectations and it's making her a more rounded person, she doesn't do it for the money but more out of instinct and the money just enables her extras. If she realises we're having a tight time financially she's the first person to say she'll go without.

Our eldest DS is heading on for six and we manage his money as he has dyspraxia and ASD- he'd never keep track of it if we actually gave it to him and he doesn't have the level of independance to need it physically himself without an adult monitoring what he's going to buy (purchases like bread boards, safety goggles, flea shampoo are his impulse buys- we have no dog, he's not safe with knives and he'd wear the goggles everywhere we let him LOL He pays close attention to advertising and takes everything literally, we can't let him near the home shopping channels!) He is however THE most maticulous saver- he'll save and save coins like anything, we're talking $60 or $70 of spare change when you take him to the coinstar every few months.

Youngest daughter is a hoarder- she'll be rich for college Youngest son would eat any cash given to him (and books, and newspapers...)

 

[GothTink]

We started giving allowances at age 5, every payday (bi-weekly). Each child got $1 per year of their age, and then when son turned 12, we started giving him $20.

 

[LynnTH]

We haven't done allowances yet either (although they have asked). They are expected to do normal stuff around the house (pick up toys, vacuum, dust, feed the dog - basically whatever I need done we all pitch in to get it done. Their favorite chore is taking 409 to the walls and cleaning them).

Anyway. What I have done this year instead of allowances is having the kids earn points for their good grades. I have an excel spreadsheet hanging on the bulletin board. For each paper they bring home they get 2 points per A, 1 per B, 0 for C's, -1 for D's and -2 for F's. We then tally the points each day and each week. At the end of each month they can cash their points in for prizes or they can save them up month to month to earn better prizes. I estimated each point to be about .10. So, for 50 points they can go to Burger King or get a Bakagan. For 500 points they can get a Wii Game or $50 cash. I have many point categories with stuff like - Rollerskating or movies with a friend, Going to Build a Bear etc.

The kids are very excited about this and so far the grades have been mostly A's and B's.

I'm sure soon we should probably do allowances also but for now they seem happy with this arrangement.

 

[DawnM]

10 and 8 year olds get $5/week. 4 year old gets $3/week.

Dawn

 

[Eeyore's Wife]

My kids do basic chores around the house because they are a member of the household. Everyone has to chip in and do the basics such as keep their room clean, pick up their own clutter, round robin doing the dishes and such.

We pay for all their needs, but not for wants. In other words, I pay for Super Cuts. If they want a fancy salon, they are welcome to pay the difference.

We do movies, via rentals, very rarely first runs at the theatre. Usually one, sometimes two a year. If they want to go more often, they can spend their own money.

Bigger things are jobs, and for jobs my kids get a paycheck. For example, my family put in a great deal of landscaping this summer. We paid our son $500 to move about 20 tons of rock, plant two trees, and help put in a shed. He put 10% toward a charity, splurged on a $50 video game, placed 200 dollars into his "car fund" and then put aside $200 to cover extras over the school year for things we do not buy.

My son decided he was wanted more money and asked us if there were any jobs he could take on around the house. I really hate doing laundry, and so my son is now doing all the laundry. He gets $10 per week for doing all the washing/drying/ folding/ hanging up. He also gets 50 cents per dress shirt for his father that is starched and ironed.

I am on bed rest, and everyone has had to pitch in more around the house because of this, but no one is getting extra pay to cover my chores, since this is simpy part of pulling together as a family. When the aforementioned son had unexpected surgery we took over his chores and job, but he still got his paycheck. I guess it is our family's version of workman's comp.

We don't pay our kids by the hour, but by the job. My oldest is in college now and very financially responsible. She is a hard worker, thrifty, and appreciative of gifts. I think she will make a great full time employee or, better yet, she will own her own company. She has learned to work hard, negotiate pay, and budget. She is also a self starter.

Just my 2 cents,
Eeyore's Wife

 

[tammy1210]

We don't equate allowance with chores here, either - the kids have assigned jobs, but there are other consequences for not getting them done....

They both get $5/week - but $1 goes in their piggy bank, and $1 is given to church on Sunday - the other $3 is their's to do with what they please. We're hoping to get them into the habit of saving/tithing better than their parents were!

 

[bwatlas]

My kids get $4.00/week. They are responsible for keeping their stuff picked up and being respectful at all times. Everytime that I have to remind one of them to pick something up or to stop arguing, they get a tally. Each tally costs them 25 cents. It has really cut down on the clutter!!

I too have learned that if I have to remind her to do her chores she needs to do, she gets 'docked wages' as she calls it. She knows she has this stuff to do, and will put it off. So for each day that I have to remind her, she gets docked. One week she owed me!
Now at 15, her money is important, so she gets a little extra for doing extra stuff, too, like mowing the grass or helping with the laundry/folding. She already has to put her own laundry away and dirty into hamper, but she's getting more involved in the hanging and folding part of it.
I do not buy video games, however. I will buy her the systems (wii, ds), but games she has to buy. Also, yes, I will give her the tix $ as someone else mentioned earlier, but she pays for 'extras'.

 

[TheRatPack]

I wanted to mention that we came across a Dave Ramsey program for little ones and teens this year in our homeschooling curriculum that might help them learn about saving/spending/giving too. It comes with envelopes and a neat dry erase board for savings/tally as well as a dry erase board that they can hang up a picture of what they are saving for, along with how many weeks it'll take to get there...etc.

It's called Financial Peace JR and the teen one is Financial Peace University Foundations in Personal Finance.

 

[Tisha_PA]

My 14 year old gets $10/week only if she does all her chores. Currently her chores are: feed the cats, scoop the litter box 3 times a week, put away the dishes after the washer is run, put away her clean clothes when they come out of the dryer, keep her room clean, and help unpack the groceries. If she doesn't do her chores or only does some of them, she gets nothing. My other kids ages 4,2,2, are too young for an allowance although my 4 year old does a much better job of cleaning her room than my 14 year old does.

 

[bubba]

Thanks for all the opinions, everyone ! You've convinced me to approach the issue of chores as jobs that we all do because that's what a family does to keep the household running. Allowances will be behaviour based. That is, they will get a base amount, but will have $ taken off for fighting, etc. Half of their allowance is to go into a savings account, the other half is theirs to spend. I'm thinking I might talk to them about charities, have them choose one that appeals to them and have them put a portion of their allowances toward a donation. We don't go to church and so don't tithe, but I think the charity idea is a good way to teach the DS's about giving to others. Thanks again !!