LOL Would you pay for this? (Kids/chores)

[bjscheel]

I just got this email from DD11:

if I do lots of work (picking up lots of sticks, picking up lots of rocks, cleaning my room, cleaning house, wash clothes, wash dishes, clean mirrors & windows, pick up piano bench next to window seat, clean porch & new
bathroom) will you give me $5?

I told her I thought not because then she would always want money for chores, but in my mind I thought maybe it was a good deal after all! I remember my mom occasionally offering money for chores but it wasn't consistent. I have not paid the girls for it before. At what point is it above & beyond normal helping out??

 

[3angelsmom]

cute note

We kind of do both. There's certain things the kids have to do without getting paid just because they are part of the family i.e., keeping their rooms clean, dusted and vacuumed, making beds every day etc. There are other chores they can do for $ and earn different amounts based on what the chore is i.e., $0.50 for setting the table. They do not get any other allowance besides the money they earn. I figure this will help teach them how to earn, save, and manage money for small treats since they are all too young to get real jobs.

 

[HM]

I just got this email from DD11:

if I do lots of work (picking up lots of sticks, picking up lots of rocks, cleaning my room, cleaning house, wash clothes, wash dishes, clean mirrors & windows, pick up piano bench next to window seat, clean porch & new
bathroom) will you give me $5?

I told her I thought not because then she would always want money for chores, but in my mind I thought maybe it was a good deal after all! I remember my mom occasionally offering money for chores but it wasn't consistent. I have not paid the girls for it before. At what point is it above & beyond normal helping out??

Does she get an allowance? If not, I think you could do $5 for all those chores each week. That's a good deal. And as mentioned above, it might be good to tie prices to various jobs around the house that she could pick up as extra.

Nice initiative on your daughter's end.

 

[LynnTH]

All that for only $5. I would do that in a second. The way I see it - there is probably not many opportunities to make extra money so she is trying to find ways to get some. I have no problem doing this. I would still expect they do their normal chores without pay but something like this I think would be a win win for all.

 

[Marionnette]

I just got this email from DD11:

if I do lots of work (picking up lots of sticks, picking up lots of rocks, cleaning my room, cleaning house, wash clothes, wash dishes, clean mirrors & windows, pick up piano bench next to window seat, clean porch & new
bathroom) will you give me $5?

I told her I thought not because then she would always want money for chores, but in my mind I thought maybe it was a good deal after all! I remember my mom occasionally offering money for chores but it wasn't consistent. I have not paid the girls for it before. At what point is it above & beyond normal helping out??

I think that it would depend on whether these are chores that she is already expected to do. Things like cleaning her room, washing dishes and picking up around the piano bench all sound like normal everyday chores that a kid should do just because they are members of the household.

My son once presented me with a list of chores he was willing to do and the price that he wanted to charge for them. I responded with my own list of things that I do for him every day and the under the price that I charged I wrote "no charge, because I love you". He never asked for money for doing chores again.

However, I had no problem giving any of the kids money when they pitched in to help me tackle a huge job. I just didn't want to encourage the "how much will you pay me" attitude whenever I asked them to do something. My brother is dealing with that now (his kids are about 8 years younger than mine). It's not pretty.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I give my kids a base allowance and then have assigned money to certain other jobs - especially outdoor ones that we don't do often.

I'd give her the 5.00 just for picking up the rocks and sticks. That can't be fun in the heat of the summer.

 

[scrapquitler]

Does she get an allowance? If not, I think you could do $5 for all those chores each week. That's a good deal. And as mentioned above, it might be good to tie prices to various jobs around the house that she could pick up as extra.

Nice initiative on your daughter's end.

I agree. I'd make a deal with her to continue doing those things each week, and you will pay her $5 every week. I'd also give her opportunities to make extra if she wants to.

 

[shortbun]

My son does chores. He does not get paid for them. We also give him the money he needs within reason. I do not believe in connecting household chores to payment. Everyone in our household does what's necessary to keep the household running.
There have been unusual jobs for which he's been paid-painting the living room, detailing the van prior to vacation, helping his dad at work. I pay his best friend for doing our yard work because we have horrible allergies. Better than some stranger making that money.
This is just how our household runs. Find what works for you.

 

[bjscheel]

All along I have been in the camp that allowance is just because, and chores are done because you should help. Some of the things on her list she was supposed to do today already. But I can see it both ways. Their allowance isn't alot, but I don't make them pay for everything either. I'll have to decide if I want to raise it or make some jobs worth money. I know DH grew up doing LOTS of chores every day on the farm just because it was expected (yet Grandpa will hand a $20 to the kids for helping pick up a downed tree- they soften in their old age!).

So, she wants to buy books:
The full Warriors series on Amazon for $26.79 with free
>shipping and it
> can ship in 24 hours. I have $23.13. All I need is
>$3.66. I asked for $5
> instead so I would have leftover money.

She just kills me sometimes!

 

[NotUrsula]

Oh, if you want funny, try my DD6. Two years ago, at age 4, she asked me if I would give her a dime for every sweet gum ball that she picked up in the yard that day. (My neighbor has a tree and we get a lot of blowback from it.)

I said sure, as I figured she would pick up a few dozen and tire of the game. Boy, was I wrong! She picked up 460 of the darn things, made me sit there and watch her count them out, and then proudly collected her $46!

No one put her up to it, she came up with that scam on her own.

 

[Darcy03231]

I had a chore chart. It listed chores that weren't part of the normal household chores and the price I would pay. If the kids felt like making extra money they could pick whatever they want to do off the chore chart. Before I paid I'd make sure the chore is done to my satisfaction (DS #1 once checked that he cleaned the bathroom when all he did was rinse out the sink).

$5 for bathroom cleaning - Included scrubbing the sink, toilet, shower/tub and washing the floor.

$3 for dusting & vacuuming the living room, family room, or dining room. If they only did one it was $1 (we had a cat and I vacuumed these rooms every day)

$1 for vacuuming the hallways and down the stairs

$5 for cleaning the kitchen which included scrubbing the counters and stove, cleaning the refrigerator, dusting the dining area, vacuuming and washing the floor

.50 per bag of trash taken out
.50 per load of dishes taken out of the dishwasher and put away

Yard work depended on what we were doing. Raking and bagging leaves was .50 per bag.

Cleaning their rooms and doing their own laundry (after the age of 12) were chores they were expected to do without payment.

 

[of the seas]

I would pay for that. She's trying to work for her money in the only way kids can "work". I think it's a good way to teach kids in real life that you have to earn money by working.

 

[RitaE]

Oh I absolutely pay for doing jobs around the house that are above their regular chores.

 

[pearlieq]

I would pay for that. She's trying to work for her money in the only way kids can "work". I think it's a good way to teach kids in real life that you have to earn money by working.

Agree completely!

I actually think you should be pretty proud of her. She wanted something, and instead of just asking for the money or whining for it, she figured out what skills she had to offer and made you a proposal. That's awesome!

She underpriced herself a little bit (all that work sounds like more than $5 to me) but that's a rookie mistake. She'll learn.

 

[sandynd]

Yeah, I absolutely would pay her for that. She budgeted, found a marketable skill she has, was entrepreneurial in asking for the work and even planned ahead to ensure she still has her nest egg - these are all huge life lessons she's learned and I would be so proud of her I would burst! Good job Mom!!

 

[MomiTo2SwtGuys]

I would. My boys don't get a regular allowance but help with picking up, cleaning off their plates, clearing the table, cleaning their bedrooms and toy room. If they were to go above and beyond in doing all that is listed, I would most definitely give them a $5.

 

[disykat]

I didn't normally pay my kids for chores, but occasionally would let them do extra jobs for money if they were saving for something special. I'd do it, but as a "special contract" not a regular deal.

 

[MinnieForMe]

Although, I don't normally pay our kids for household chores. I absolutely offer money if it's above and beyond. In this situation, I'd pay her.

I pay my housekeeper a great deal more than $5.00. I'll hire your daughter.

 

[GaBelle]

All along I have been in the camp that allowance is just because, and chores are done because you should help. Some of the things on her list she was supposed to do today already. But I can see it both ways. Their allowance isn't alot, but I don't make them pay for everything either. I'll have to decide if I want to raise it or make some jobs worth money. I know DH grew up doing LOTS of chores every day on the farm just because it was expected (yet Grandpa will hand a $20 to the kids for helping pick up a downed tree- they soften in their old age!).

So, she wants to buy books:
The full Warriors series on Amazon for $26.79 with free
>shipping and it
> can ship in 24 hours. I have $23.13. All I need is
>$3.66. I asked for $5
> instead so I would have leftover money.

She just kills me sometimes!

You know, good for her to recognize at 11 what most adults don't even get: if you want something, work to earn it.
That is something my DH and I work very hard to instill in our girls. My 7 yr old wants a new backpack for school. She has one now, she just wants a new one. She is working a set of chores that she proposed in order to earn the money to buy it.
I think its a wonderful life lesson.

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We don't give a regular allowance to our kids, but there are various extra chores they can do for money. However, they are only eligible to earn that money if their rooms are clean and the playroom is clean (which is part of their household responsibility).

When I want help with chores (like we have company coming or dinner guests), I will give them a list of chores to do and the dollar amount I'm willing to pay. They generally do them quickly because those chances don't come around too often.

I almost always will pay them for grunt work -- cleaning the litter box ($1), pulling weeds (varies). My youngest is working through a large box of stuff to shred to earn $5.