Being at the mall with DD earlier today and having her ask for this, that, and the other thing, also got me thinking about maybe starting on giving her a weekly allowance so she can start using her own money to get the things she wants and realize that one cannot just buy everything they want if they don't have the money. I have always known I would do an allowance with her at some point so now I wonder if I should just start now. My stepsons never had one growing up, their mom just gave them money or bought them stuff when they wanted it and it's only now that the oldest one, having a part time job, is learning about the importance of saving and living on a budget. Do you do an allowance with your kids? Is it tied into chores or other tasks? Is 4 years old a reasonable age to start and how much would you give? TIA!
My 3 year-old gets $3/week allowance. He also has chores (feeding dogs, helping with laundry etc.) but the chores and allowance are not tied to each other. The chores are to teach him how to do those thing and also to teach him that we all pitch in as a family to get things done, the allowance is given to let him learn about spending, saving and charity.
I started giving my daughter an allowance when she was five. It is not tied to any chores or behaviors. Allowance is just to learn about money and to gain some independence. Chores are because she is part of our household and is required to help out.
I started with $1 a week. She now gets $2 a week (at age 9). She may be due an increase, because she has been very responsible saving and spending her money.
I pay my kids (2 & 4) 10 cents a chore and they can do as many chores as they like in a day, in addition to picking up after themselves as part of being a responsible member of the family.
My favorite benefits are:
1.) Since they are rewarded for their work, they LOVE chores.
2.) It trains to be responsible with their money.
3.) If they ask for something I can say "Let's count your money when we get home and if you have enough you can bring your money next time." No fits at the store. Ever.
4.) The chores teach them how to clean, a valuable life lesson.
5.) Handling the money teaches them about coin values.
6.) They learn to recognize the words on our chore sticks (see below). Even my 2 year-old know which stick is "wash windows".
Need I go on? :)
My four year old bought her very own bike ($45) all with her own money. She was one proud girl. Granted, she only had her sights on it for a few months, and most of it was money from grandparents for her birthday, but she worked hard and she was one proud girl. Now she is saving up for a Rapunzel doll, which she'll probably get in about a month.
For chores, I colored popsicle sticks (blue for my son, pink for my daughter) that each have a different chore on it. They pick at least one chore each day, and when they have finished all of their nine sticks each, they get a surprise. That can be bonus money, painting nails, a piece of candy, a neat sticker... anything little they can appreciate.
This works great for our family. Do what feels right for yours, and good luck!
I really do think there is not a one size fits all approach to allowance but I would take it you have considered that since you are asking for opinions instead of just one person's word. I have asked my husband about putting our four year old daughter on an allowance for her things but he thinks she is too young. She is super smart and gets many things but he may be right as far as her not yet understanding money issues. Our almost 7 year old son has received an allowance since last year just after his birthday. I will admit that my husband and I are not on the same page as far as allowance but I can tell you that having a predictable amount he will be getting each week has seemed to cut down on the arguments about what all he can have when we go to the store. From my point of view one of the big things you have to clarify about any allowance is the expectations you have around that allowance. Some people give their kids a generous amount but expect the child to also save from that pile of money as well as spend their own money on friends birthday gifts. Some people advocate giving money only if the child followed certain behavioral expectations all week without fail. I do think that at 4 you can impose limits and still allow the child some freedom. My own daughter seems to get it when I say that when we are going out we are getting nothing but what is on our list (grocery store). She also seems to get it when I say that I will allow her to get ONE THING at the mall and that ultimately I have final approval based on cost. I still think it can teach good decision making skills to say she has to choose and that you have some authority over it at this point in time. Once they have money of their own from allowance it is also a good lesson to let them spend $5 on the bag of candy that lasts for 10 minutes. You do want them to make small financial "mistakes" early so that hopefully they learn their lessons when the stakes are low and not as a college student when no money to loan you means no money to loan you
My kids have always had chores but no money attached to it. I don't know why but I never found allowance to be a valuable lesson. It is like saying you need to be paid to be helpful within your family. When my kids want something that I am unwilling to buy they go to aunts, uncles and grandparents begging for work. They do work their butts off too.
Not really sure if I am right or wrong on this one. I do know my two oldest have an amazing work ethic, more so than their peers. It is just it could be what is best for my kids but doesn't work for everyone.
We started giving our daughter an allowance on her 5th birthday. She gets $2 per week and it is not tied to chores (but can be taken away for bad behaviour) She gets $1 bill and $1 in change - the change she has to count out each week (sometimes there is a little extra) and then it goes into her pig. Every month or 2 we go to the Credit Union and she empties her pig into the coin counter which is free if the money goes into a Keep The Change CD, this is money she is saving for when we go to Disney next year and she will have her own spending money.
For us, it is the importance of teaching her about fiscal responsibility with some math training thrown in.
She will be 6 this week and she will get raised to $4 per week with $2 in change going to the pig and the other $2 for spending when she finds something she really wants (generally stuff at Build-a-Bear).
I plan on using my sister's method when my daughter is old enough, and I was thinking 4 as that is when my sister started. Her kids get an allowance for doing chores above and beyond what is expected of them. They are expected to clean their rooms and keep them clean so they do not get an allowance for that. However, if they help dust or empty the dishwasher, they get paid as that is not one of their chores. As they get older the expected chores grow and their extra chores become bigger. He son is 9 and has started with yard work. He did all the weeding of their garden in the spring. He got paid a lot for that as it was a lot of hard work, but at 9, he is responsible for emptying the dishwasher so he no longer gets paid for that.
I don't do allowance for chores. They have basic chores they are responsible for. If they want to earn money they have to do extra stuff that isn't part of their normal chores. I don't pay them a lot either. When children get their first jobs they usually have to work really hard for minimum wage. I don't want my kids to hate work and to expect more money. I want them to work hard no matter what job they have. That's my thinking behind this. I hope this helps.
My children get a "payday" each Saturday. It's for being a good student (not their grades, per se; they don't get grades. It's just for doing the best they can at school). I started when they were 5.
They each get 5.00. They immediately have to give 2.00 back to me - 10% for church, 10% for charity of their choice, 10% for college, 10% for short term savings.
So they take their 50 cents to church each Sunday, they save the money for charity until they find something they want to give it to (it usually ends up being an animal charity), the college money gets saved until there is enough to make a deposit into their savings account at the bank, and the short term savings is for more expensive things they want to buy and don't want to have to wait until their birthday or Christmas (like their spy toys).
I have never associated chores with money. They are a member of this family, and are responsible for the their share of keeping the household running smoothly (well, that's the idea, anyway - this household never runs smoothly!)
One of the best allowance advice I have heard was you give your child a dollar each week per year of age (so $4 right now). You count out half for the college fund. 10% ($0.40 now) goes to a charity. 20% ($0.80) goes to a 'Goals Fund' where she picks out a long term goal to save for, like a new doll or a bike when she's older. And the last 20% is hers to spend however she likes.
