Good Parenting

Parents give their children a regular allowance for a very simple reason: they are their children. While giving an allowance to children is not direct payment for work done at the home, a lack of effort to help might affect the amount they earn. The following will present some suggestions regarding the difficult decision of just how much money children should earn from their allowance.

Take the child’s age into account. When children are still quite young, perhaps seven or eight years old, they are not so interested in clothes and other fashion accessories. Their allowance is really just a way for you to teach them about money at this point. You can help them make purchases within their limited means, however, by taking them on trips to the dollar store to buy candy or small toys.

As children grow, the things they want to spend money on will change dramatically. When kids approach their teen years, fashion and sports tend to dominate their purchases. At this point, an allowance could be raised to around three dollars every week so that kids can buy the little extras they want, although parents are responsible for buying the clothes and other things they need for school.

Kids really don’t need to spend a lot of money. For example, a child might see a video game he really wants and decide to buy it. Depending on the price however, he might have to wait a few weeks or months to save the money he needs to buy it.

Allowance can be raised to roughly five dollars a week as children get into their tween years. That way they will be able to do things with their friends, like go to a movie. Keeping their allowance at a reasonably limited level means that, though they’re able to go to the movie, they can’t buy concessions without a little bit of savings on hand. At this point, children’s purchases are all based on things they want or spending time out of the house with their friends.

Children in their early teens that can’t get a job yet will require an allowance of more than just five dollars. Since they’re becoming more socially active, providing them with ten to twenty dollars every week will help them to save up, for example, to go on a date with someone they like. Allowance should be discontinued when children begin earning a working income.

In order to earn their weekly allowance, children should be required to do chores around the house and thereby contribute to the family. Such chores are obligatory and do not earn extra money for kids.

Small children can start doing chores by cleaning up their toys after they finish playing. Be sure to give them lots of positive feedback when they do their work, like smiling and clapping.

Chores need to be adjusted as a child ages. When kids grow a bit, they could help keep their rooms clean and help do dishes with the dishwasher. Keeping a clean room does not usually come naturally to kids, boys especially. Although the kids might be frustrated, Mom can’t deal with all that mess either.

Teenagers can participate in more work-like chores such as cleaning bathrooms, taking out the garbage cans, and vacuuming the floors. Getting a job does not mean that teenagers are exempt from household chores. Help them decide when to do chores based off their work schedule, but make sure they understand the importance of chores in relation to their family.