What is your view on giving a child an allowance?

Question

And did you receive an allowance growing up?

Did you earn money (or money on top of your allowance) for doing chores?

Answer 1

When my daughter turned 10 we told her if she wanted a magazine or a special something, she'd no longer just be given it. She was given a 6 part chore list and told do these simple chores, get paid and buy what you want. I'm not paying for anymore Tiger Beat magazines. She's now 12 and knows the value of a dollar, how to make it stretch, and when to save it for something bigger.

Her daily chores are: clean room, feed fish, empty dishwasher, empty trash, help with supper and help do laundry.  

Answer 2

In my house, you get "commission." You don't work, you don't get paid, you don't do it right the first time, I do it, and you don't get paid. It's character building.

Answer 3

when I was younger my mom wrote down a list for my brother and I of everything that we could both do in order to get an allowance during the summer.. Well needless to say my brother and I never did them haha so she took it away and we did not get paid... I think it's ok if the kids actually do the work and just keep it to a very minimal amount... and maybe do it for things that wouldn't normally be expected.. i mean kids shouldn't be paid to clean up toys they should do that anyway.. i guess it depends

Answer 4

I am still growing up, but I get no allowance. My mom has taught me that money isn't going to be handed out to me every week or when I do chores after I move out. If I do extra chores though, like if I only had to clean my bathroom, wash the windows, and vacuum, and I unloaded the dishwasher, then I'd probably get a dollar, but not a lot.

Answer 5

I give my two girls <7 and 12> $3 everyday 50 cents of it for thier lunch money.I think its alright to give kids allowance as long as they know what it is for and DO NOT spend all of it.Allie my oldest has a bank account with $6000+ because everyday she leaves $1 in her piggy bank and as a treat I give my kids $5 on weekends and an additional $2 when they are good and $10 when they have good grades.

Answer 6

Our 6 yr old has everyday responsibilities (picking up after himself, keeping his room up, putting his clothes in the hamper) and then gets allowance for extra 'chores' like helping weed, helping dust, etc.  He get's $1 a week. Every couple months we split the money so that some goes towards savings, some for charity/donation, and some he gets to spend.  

Answer 7

When my oldest was 7 we started giving her an allowance for doing a list of chores for stuff around the house.  I got sick of the "I wants" and decided anything extra that she wanted could be purchased with her own money.  As she got older, the chores got harder and the money got a little bit more.  I've just started now with my 6 year old.  I know some people think that kids should just automatically help out around the house- and mine still do.  They just have specific things that they are required to do for the allowance.  My 6 yr.old is already saving up for something that she wants and I think it helps them see how much stuff really costs.  And they usually think harder about what they buy and appreciate it more.   I did earn an allowance as a kid- starting around middle school age.

Answer 8

As a kid I did not know what an allowance was.  Did chores by the TON and got "room and board" for doing them.  We were paid sometimes when we worked for a neighbor.  An allowance?  No, not without doing chores and doing them well and on time without griping.

Answer 9

my 3 and 4 year old nephews get money for doing stuff

my mom gave my 4 year old nephew 5 bucks just to get her nail clippers back

i get money too

my mom bribes me with money i am getting 5 just cause i did the dishes

Answer 10

Nope we didn't get an allowance growing up and I don't give one to my kids.  I can't justify paying my children to live under the roof I provide for them or pay them to eat the food I put on the table.  My children don't do "chores" they are expected to pick up after themselves.  If I need someone to do the housework I will hire a maid service.  I did not have my children to become built in maids.  

Answer 11

i dont get allowence. i do the chores and thats that. were tight on money so every weekend when im at my dad i do a few chores and he gives me 20 and says "treat yourself to something nice. you earned it" so its not really allowence.

Answer 12

i don't recieve allowance at all. never have.

my view is that the child should recieve some allowance for helping out around the house for 2 reasons.

it'll help him/her learn money mangement.

and all children like having money.

i don't believe children should be given money unless its for like Christmas, or their birthday, or stuff like that. they have to work for it.

I'm a professional violinist for now. Its the only thing i can do at age 15

thats how i've earned most of my money since age 8.

aside from Christmas, birthday, and Chinese New Year.

Answer 13

I'd give a kid an allowance if he or she was a good kid who did well in school and finished whatever chores were laid out. I don't think kids should be given a ton of cash, but they should have a few bucks to go to the movies or to save up for something big. I like the idea of it, because it's good practice. Kids aren't old enough to have steady jobs, but allowance instills that same idea - that if you do what's expected of you, you get paid every week. If you want something that costs more than what you get every week, you have to save. I think that's better than just buying things for a kid, or handing money every time they ask. It forces them to have a budget; they have to think "If I buy this candy, will I have enough left over for the movies?" etc etc.

I got a small allowance until I was about 13. Then I started babysitting and earning my own money, and when  I was 15 or 16 I was able to get a regular job. They still gave me cash sometimes but if they felt like it, not a steady allowance.

Answer 14

I never got an allowance and I did a lot of things around the house, and our farm. Cleaning my mother's horse stalls, ect.

I did get rewards sometimes though but not so much in cash.

With my own children, they get a lot more than I did and I do give them cash sometimes for things they want to buy on their own or to save. I don't have a set date though of when I give them it.

I'm a little "old fashioned" I guess when it comes to children doing chores. I think they should help around the house regardless of being paid or not. It teaches them responsibility and makes them feel good when they can accomplish things on their own. They need most of these skills when they grow up and move out anyways.

Reward them for being good kids and doing what they're told. Have them help around the house anyways without promises of getting paid.

Just my opinion.

At one point though I did somewhat give my kids allowance, not in cash though. What I did was head to Walmart or even the Dollar Tree and pick out these small paper lunch bags and filled them up with toys, treats, and sometimes a dallor or two and then folded them up and hid the contents. Like a Grab Bag. At the end of two weeks if they were well behaved, helped me around the house, or whatever. They would get one. They loved that and it was fun and exciting to see what they got. But then they got older and bored of it.