Allowance?

[WishIwasinMN]

Hello everyone! Teen son has been grumbling slightly about amount he gets for allowance ($10) and I was wondering is that terribly low? What is everyone else giving for an allowance (if you do at all)? Thanks a bunch! Will show him replies-unless everyone else is paying $50 a week or something! LOL!
Thanks a bunch!
Jaci

[peggy]

My son gets 20 a week. Things are pretty expensive around here if he wants to do anything on the week end he usually needs at least that much.

peggy

[Kirsten]

We have two daughters - ages 6 and 2 now. But our 6 year old gets an allowance - $4.50 a week. Of that, $2 goes into her savings account, $2 is hers to do with as she wants, and 50 cents is for the charity box. When it is full, she can choose where she wants to donate it.
$10 a week is probably fine at his age if all he needs to use it for is "mad money". So you pay for school lunch, tennis shoes/coat and other necesseties (that doesn't look like it is spelled correctly...) I would say he could babysit, mow lawns, walk dogs, etc. for people in the neighborhood if he wants more spending money.
Kirsten

[EnviroBecca]

If the $10 now is just spending money, suggest that you'll increase his allowance if he'll budget it to buy some of his own stuff. My parents did this when I was 15: I had been getting I think $2 a week (this was a while ago!) for spending and was whining that my friends got $5. We agreed that I would get $10 a week and pay for my own food outside the home and my own clothes except shoes. One of my first decisions was to make sandwiches at home and bring them for lunch a few days a week instead of blowing $6.25 on 5 school lunches! Funny how expenses seem so much more real when you're paying for them yourself! It's a good lesson for a teen. Also, there's a lot of satisfaction in thinking, "I bought this outfit with my own money."

Also, try offering him some extra money for the occasional major chore. (Don't set up a reward schedule for chores you want him to do consistently as his role in the household, because eventually he'll blow them off and say, "I don't need the money right now.") Saturday morning spent scrubbing out the oven=$10 extra toward a fun Saturday night!

[KathyS]

My kids get allowance based on if they help out or not.

I have one child that can be exstremly lazy and does not want to help in anyway. & I have 2 boys that work their tails off. I just don't think its fair to give them the same amount.
HOWEVER..
I have a slight delima..since she doesn't get much allowance I am handing out money to her when she wants to go swimming or to a movie. I would much rather have her spend her own money..She just doesn't have any.

I have thought about telling her if she doens't have any money then she just can't go...I tell her repeatedly through out the week when I know she wants to do things on the weekend that she needs to help out to earn her allowance..but its just not enough motivation.

But I do feel that allowance should be based on how much they help out and not just handed out freely.

[Kirsten]

Just wanted to suggest the books by Neale Godfrey. Money Doesn't Grow on Trees, A Penny Saved, and Kids' Ultimate Money Book. I saw her on Oprah many years ago and she made sense to me. I have A Penny Saved and we do allowance as explained in that book. She believes that allowance is given to teach kids how to handle money (when the cost is low - it is similar to Love and Logic theories) and that chores are done (with no money paid) as a family member to keep the household running. Extra money can be given for big, non-weekly jobs (such as washing the car or cleaning out the garage or weeding). But stuff like making your bed, setting the table, walking the dog, picking up toys, etc. are done the same as you grocery shopping, making dinner, doing laundry - because all the members of the family need to help out to keep things running smoothly. I am not explaining it as well as the book does but I think she makes a lot of good points.
Kirsten

[miriam]

Dearest MOthering Friends:

Children need to earn $. Nobody should ever be "given" an allowance.

The amount should be commensurrate with what you let them spend the $ on and how expensive things are in your area.

Let your child help balance your check book once in a while so they get a sense of what expenses go on in a household so they can really appreciate how they fit in the whole$ picture.

Any child who can +/- , can earn $ and help around the house.

[grisandole]

I have an almost 10yo ds and he gets $4 a week.

[SueDid]

There is one school of thought that allowance shouldn't be tied to chores, the chores are something that we do because we're a family, we live in the house together and we want it to be a nice place to be.

Our children are expected to help around the house, they keep their own rooms cleaned, they take turns making lunch (depending on who has a busier day, etc), they do other things when asked and are expected to do it without complaint.

The allowance is nominal, $1 at 6 years old, $2 at 8, $3 at 10. At 12 years old, allowance goes up to $10 but they are expected to save $5 of it. At 14 it goes to $12, still saving half. Our 13 year old now babysits so is earning extra money, our 15 year old works a few hours a week with my husband (we have our own business) plus he refs soccer games during soccer season.

We don't just hand them money for what they want, some things they need to save for, the things they need we provide for them. Their allowance is 'mad money'...money to save for what they want, pay their way on youth outings, etc.

Our 8 year old just finished saving $55...he saved his Christmas money, birthday money, allowance and has been saving pennies for a few years now. He bought himself an aquarium today and is so please with it as it took a lot of effort for him to save that much money.

Anyway, I think amounts depend a lot on what they are expected to do with it. We homeschool so there are no lunches to buy, we buy what clothing is needed, but the older children are now also buying some things that they want as well.
Sue

[miriam]

Dear Sue Did and other mothering friends:

Your children certainly know the value of work and $.

No one can argue with success.

Congratulations.

[shooshree]

My ds (15 yo) is expected to participate in household chores. For this, he gets a measley $5.00 per week. However, if he does the chores without complaining (no easy feat for him), he automatically earns another $5.00 per week, and if he can do the chores without complaining AND without being reminded, he earns another $5.00 per week. For a total of $15.00.

For extra income, he can do extra chores. The sky's the limit on this one but he doesn't exercise it very often.

[DiaperDiva]

No money for householf chores here, unless Kailey will be paying me to do her laundry


We all do chores around our house because we all live here.

If ever Kailey needs something, we are here parents and will provide it for her.

Kailey can start working when she is 16, provided she gets and keeps good grades, however if grades fall, she must quit work. School comes first, no matter what.