Chores for my 11 year old daughter and allowance?

Question

The program is called JA Biz town and the link to see if they have one in your area is:

http://www.ja.org/near/near_map.asp

otherwise you can learn more on ja.org.

If this were in my area and not offered at school, I would fight for it! It cost each child 25.00, parents paid, but it completely worth all the money!! Every year our school district which is parkway s. dist. in west county ST. Louis, has the 5th grade classes participate in this.

Answer 1

My 9 year old gets $5 a week pocket money which she keeps in a jar, then once a month (when she has $20) we put it in a bank account we opened for her.

To get her pocket money she needs to:

*Keep her room tidy and her bed made

*Put clothes away

*Do the dishes

*Be respectful

Pocket money is a fantastic way to teach children responsibility I think.  It's also great to have if they are playing up, coz then you can tell them they won't get their pocket money if they keep misbehaving LOL...

Another reason I did this is to teach her the value of money, as she was always asking for expensive things, without understanding how much money it takes to buy them.  Now if she wants something she saves up for it - the first time she bought herself something with her own money she felt so grown up, and proud of herself for saving up for it all by herself.

WOW!  That program at her school sounds amazing!  Whereabouts are you?  I'd love if they did that at my daughter's school!

Answer 2

HOLY c**p!

ok im 13 here are my chores

- clean room

-make coffee

- sweep steps

-clean loft

-care for dog

-sweep and clean the mudroom

-make dinner (i mostly make dinner)

- put dishes away

- help with laundy

-put my clothes away

my allowance

NONE!

Answer 3

I think you have a good list.  I would guess she's old enough to fold the clothes, too, if you wanted to add that.  Washing the car is another good one, weather-permitting.

I like that you're trying to teach your daughter about saving and how to keep a budget.  My parents did this, and I think it really helped me in life (I'm in my 30s now).

I would also make sure that her debit card doesn't have an overdraft.  That could get bad.

Do you plan to have limits on what she can spend?  Or is it that once she deposits all of her paycheck she can spend 100% of it the next day if she chooses?

This is maybe getting a little sinister, but you could make her have some kind of "bill", such as a $5/month bill for getting dessert.  If she doesn't budget, she can't pay the dessert bill, and then she doesn't get dessert.  Maybe a bad idea, but something to think about.

Answer 4

I believe in teaching children financial discipline.  My 9 and 10 year olds both earn pocket money for completing chores  - but we have to keep a scorecard to remind them of how they are progressing (and avoid selective memory).  I reckon the ATM card is a good idea if the child is mature.

Answer 5

the whole bank thing seems like a lot for an 11 yr old to be fully responsible for and at only $7.00 a week it will take time to add up enough to even open the account. Why not try one of those piggy banks you can buy that looks just like an atm machine and keep in your room? My son has one and it comes with a card and  you have to use a combination to open it.

For chores I would say

emptying dish washer or doing dishes

sweeping/mopping floors

vacuuming

dusting

windexing windows/mirrors

cleaning sink area in bathroom

caring for pets if any

emptying garbages

I think two chores per day is good, that's what my kids do and between the 4 of them a lot gets done when they each have two a day.

Answer 6

washing dishes

mowing the lawn

cleaning the bathroom

cooking

dusting

planting flowers

Answer 7

I think shes a little young for thw whole bank thing. Give her about $10 a week and get a piggy bank.

Answer 8

I think that is a great idea and their really needs to be more parents teaching their children these type of practices. I couldn't fault anything you are doing and have always planned to do the same for my children once they grow up (they are still under two). I would like to add one thing though. It would even be better for you could teach her about interest rates and how interest can help you make money. Teach her how she can make her money work for her. I certainly don't think you have started this too early and I think the chores you have given her are very fair. My dad did the same for me but started me when I was around 8 yrs old and my father-in-law did the same for my husband and because of what our parents taught us about saving and making money my husband and I got married at 24 and by the time we turned 28 we had our big, near new house paid off and this was just because of what we learnt when we were young and we followed those finanicial practices through our young lives. Good on you, two thumbs up. Good parenting.