Brigitte Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 We don't give our kids an allowance. In order to not have to pay for all their little wants and to teach them something about money, I would like to start compensating them for work around the house. I will not pay them for cleaning their room and picking up their own messes around the house, but cleaning a bathroom, vacuuming common spaces, dusting, etc. is something I am willing to pay them for. So, for those of you who pay for chores, what is your fee structure? Or, if you pay an allowance, what do you kids have to do in order to earn it? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcatmom Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 This is what I do. It's been working well for us. It's all outlined here on this blog post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 We do an allowance mainly as a way to teach them to manage money, but they can lose it if they do not do their chores. The kids and I all do chores together for 20-30 minutes after school work is completed, so we have not run into them fighting me on them yet. If they ever do, then they will lose a fourth of their allowance each day, because we clean 4 days out of the week. They get one dollar a week for each year they are old, so the 6 year old gets $6 and so on. We did not start out tying the allowance to chores at all, but it does make sense that it needs to be earned for something rather than just because they live here. Anyway, that is how we do it, because I would lose my mind trying to keep up with quarters and dollars earned for chores for all three kids each week. I am not organized enough for that lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brindee Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 We gave an allowance just because our kids live here :D However, it's tiny. We gave them $1 per year of age per MONTH! We did small daily chores, and had a bigger clean-up on Fridays. The reason we gave allowances is so they would learn to manage money. We had them do tithing first, then offering if they chose. Next they put 50% of the total paid into savings. The rest, and there was some left ;), was theirs to use or save. It worked VERY well. Each one of them still tithes first when they receive money and often save. They don't save 50% anymore, but back then, since we provided what they needed, it was good to save that to be able to have some when they got older. We didn't have many problems with them doing chores, if we did they were very minor. I think that's because we mostly did 10 or 15 minute "quick-cleans". We all gathered and at GO we'd see how much we could get done in the alotted time. We often finished before the timer went off, which was a victory to be celebrated with a popsicle or icecream or some silly high-fiving and stuff! :D If we did NOT finish in the alotted time, we still stopped. We'd go do other things, but we'd have to have another quick clean later, with less time on the clock. My kids never pulled the "Go slow so we don't have to do it all" stunt, so not sure what we would've done had they done that. At any rate, they ended up with their favorite Friday chores that they asked me if they could do each week (as opposed to moving the different chores around each week to the different kids)...... and they STILL do those same chores on Fridays! It's "tradition" now or something! :D We don't give allowances anymore, at least not the same scale... Normal chores are things that need to be done to run a household--cleaning the different rooms, sweeping, vacuuming, mopping, etc., since we wanted our kids to grow up realizing that uncompensated work goes into running a family, and if everyone pitches in, since they're part of the family, it gets done, and they can move on to other things. It's easier, we felt, to transition to their own homes and doing what needs to be done, without expecting to be compensated or rewarded for it, or without asking "How much will you pay me to do that"! Extra money for things had to be earned by doing extra-curricular chores. All the charts and graphs overwhelm me, and I'd get hopelessly behind, so this worked out well for us! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 The only time we pay anything is for picking up the dog stool in the yard. We have very large dogs;) My daughter(12) earns $7.00 for a thorough job while my son earns $5.00. He does just a little bit less then her in terms of work ability. They must have cleaned up the yard, bagged up all the stool and placed the tools and bag in a safe area. They also have to remember those items on their own or the money gets deducted. We have a fairly large fence area that they clean and again this is the only chair that they get paid for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaz Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 My dc have a list of chores to do each morning depending on what needs to be done such as cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, dusting, taking care of the pool, etc. We don't pay for those. My ds does his own laundry. We pay around $1 for each additional job they do such as pulling 20 weeds, folding laundry, organizing the pantry. Bigger jobs like helping me wash the car pay $2-3. We also pay for training for chores when learning how to do something new. Right now, I also pay my dc as they learn to cook. They receive $2 for each dinner they prepare with my help. The goal is to have them each take over responsibility for one dinner a week next year. We've had really good results not tying money to chores. We seeing helping around the house as something we all do as a family. My dc usually do their chores without complaining now that they've had a few years of training. HTH! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zebra Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I give my 8 year old $2 a week. I sat her down and told her that she was getting this money because she lives in our house, and because she contributes to the household by doing chores etc. It's been a really good experience for both of us. I am not constantly buying her dollar items here and there, and she's been able to save up for things she really wants. I didn't realize it would be such a good life and math lesson for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 whaaat? I'm supposed to be paying them, too? :001_huh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pqr Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 (edited) Food and board. Chores are a familial responsibility; I would no more pay a child to mow the lawn than my wife to make dinner or ask a fee for hanging a picture or moving furniture. Edited February 10, 2012 by pqr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NotSoObvious Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Chores are part of being in our family. We all work. I'd like to start giving them an allowance, and I can feel the time is coming, but it won't be connected directly to chores. It will probably be like any privilege that can be taken away for poor behavior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I let them live. :D I'm with the others who pay an allowance, require chores, but don't connect the two. And the allowance I pay is pretty little. I pay it by the month. Once in a while, I do offer a hard job they can do for pay if they have a goal they're saving for, like cleaning out the garage or washing the cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karis Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Food and board. Chores are a familial responsibility; I would no more pay a child to mow the lawn than my wife to make dinner or ask a fee for hanging a picture or moving furniture. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicAnn Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Food and board. Chores are a familial responsibility; I would no more pay a child to mow the lawn than my wife to make dinner or ask a fee for hanging a picture or moving furniture. Agreed...this is similar to what we believe. I don't want chores to be paid for or connected with behavior. You do these things (in our case, laundry, room clean, pet feeding) because you are part of a family and that's how it works. Now we do give allowance. However, we don't celebrate birthdays or holidays, so there are no other opportunities to get money. If we did, i can't say for certain we would do allowance (I never had it growing up). At this point, there isn't really any earning involved. I think Dd is a little too young to really understand, but she is learning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 For casual kid effort, $2 an hour. If they are working really hard, I will pay more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 My children are not paid for chores. If they do extra jobs of their own free will, like chop wood, wash windows clean the car,and mow, they earn COMPUTER TIME. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 They also have chores, routine maintainance mostly, that are not tied to the allowance. I pay for large jobs, at what would be considered a generous market rate. Ie-paid 18 yo $50 to disassemble and pick away trampoline for the winter. Paid him also $40 to load up the van and make a dump run. Other recent "for pay" jobs: defrost freezer: $10, brillo my roasting pan: $5. I started off paying more generously, but I realized that they'd refuse to get real "teenager" jobs if I overpaid them at home :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) My sons help out because they are members of the family. My 8 year old has a fair number of chores. But he gets allowance because he is a member of the family. I do not link these because I do not want to give the impression that he can stop doing the chores or do fewer chores if he does not want the money. Or, say if due to a change in our finances we lowered or eliminated allowance. He would still have chores so that he learns to care for a home and family and himself. I give allowance so that he can learn to budget his spending, give and save. I see that as being important regardless of chores. I am not his employer, I am his mother and he is expected to be a contributing family member apart from any financial incentive. We give $1 per year of age per week starting at age 4. So my 8 year old gets $8 a week. He has to buy pretty much anything non-essential or school related from that- gifts, some books, all the toys and games he gets aside from the holidays and his birthday. As he gets into the teen years the amount will increase but he will have to budget for the essentials too, like clothes and shoes with no bailouts from me. He also has to give at least 10%. He chooses to give 1 week allowance each month to charity. He saves most of his funds and then will spend on a big item most of the time- like Lego Mindstorms was something he saved more than a year for. His current chores are: vacuuming his room and the hallway (we don't have much carpet) helping in the yard feeding the cat setting and clearing the table putting away his laundry writing the days on the dry erase calendar/cleaning it at the end of the month Helping his brother put away toys and books Tidying his room He often helps unload the dishwasher On cleaning days, he will help dust and sweep. He likes to wipe down the counters too. If he drags on his chores, he loses privileges and frankly computer time talks louder to him than anything. Edited February 10, 2012 by kijipt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) My children have a lengthy list of daily chores, including putting dishes away, scooping dog poop, feeding and cleaning ferret cages, feeding cats, sweeping floors, cleaning bathrooms (either sink or toilet or floor each day), straightening up living room, making sure all toys are put away, taking out compost and recycling, sorting/folding all laundry, etc. After ALL chores are done, they can have 15 min computer time or movie time. If they complete ALL chores each day, they each get a quarter. They get nothing if they don't complete all the chores. I appreciate them learning money skills, and learning that work does pay. They don't get paid extra for odd jobs, they know they are expected to help out whether they are paid or not, and they have a willingness to help when asked. Before I instituted chores, I was going NUTS trying to do it all myself. They are a huge help, I appreciate their work and they know it! I remind them often! :-) Oh, I also wanted to add...before I started giving them incentives (15 minutes and a quarter), they were still very willing to help with whatever I asked. But having the daily list completed by 3pm was my goal....and they are very motivated and do it now without my asking or reminding or mentioning. THAT is important to me. I don't enjoy reminding them of the 12 items to do each day. I think it is perfectly fine to give them some motivation to get a large list of things done each day by a certain time. I am motivated to get all our school subjects done by 3 so I can go for my run (not money, but incentive for me). I think most people work for some reason...a paycheck, or it makes our lives run more smoothly. Since the kids don't get any benefit out of seeing a clean bathroom floor, I am helpoing to motivate them with something that lets them know we appreciate it and they get some benefit from it that has meaning to them. Edited February 10, 2012 by lovetobehome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I don't pay for chores. They are simply expected. If they expect to eat, they are expected to contribute to the running of the house. We have daily routines that they are expected to do. Since we have added the dog to the household, we are working on a rotating list so that it takes into account everyone's schedules. I give an allowance not tied to chores, but, they have to remind me so that I can have the correct amount on hand. I pay them half their age per week. As they get older, they are responsible for more and more of their personal expenses. If they don't remind me, they don't get paid. I require that they tithe, save half of that in longer term savings and are free to do with the other half as they wish (provided it is not against house rules.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpidarkomama Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We give our kids $2/week for pocket money. They can hire out their chores to siblings for $0.25-50 per job, if that's how they want to spend their money! Somehow, not too many chores get farmed out... We sometimes have special (beyond normal duty) jobs that we pay for, like outdoor cleanup, garden work, car washing, etc. As long as they chores get done, I'm happy, and there's always a sibling willing to make an extra quarter when asked. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evergreen State Sue Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We are only on the 4th week of this, but I'm paying my kids $5 a week if they will brush their teeth at least 18 times in a week. I'm hoping after a few months it will be more of a habit and I can transfer that $5 to another activity they need to be motivated to do. My kids are teens and nagging all these years just hasn't worked to the point of embarrassment when we visit the orthodontist. This is working! Wish I had thought of it sooner. The other chores are what we all have to do to live together in harmony and cleanliness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in KY Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 ...So, for those of you who pay for chores, what is your fee structure?... I use the Economides Family's basic structure with some modifications. I give a point for each of the following accomplished: Morning Routine, School, Attitude, Chores, Evening Routine. They can earn up to 25 points a week for those basics. If they find other things that need to be done and do them, those extra chores get extra points. If they earn 28 points, I double their pay, thus rewarding drive. If they don't fill out a time sheet, they don't get paid on pay day (Saturday night). Here are more particulars: $.10 per point up to age 11, $.15 to age 13, and $.20 after. I do award half points. They have to check in with me to get their points approved, but I don't fill out the timesheets. Morning Routine is bed, bible, breakfast, ablutions and ready to go by 9. School is all school work done to the best of your ability. Attitude is how your treat all family members all day long Chores are whatever needs to be done that day, usually we pick between three and six options and divide them among ourselves. I do whichever ones they don't want to do. Evening routine is dinner, dishes/KP, and bed Hope this helps! Susan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamela H in Texas Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 (edited) My kids get an allowance, but not weekly or monthly and not always a set amount. Just like we get different amounts, they do also. Tax return means a sum of money. A normal work month is a normal amount of money. A bad work week or a good one will mean a tweaked amount. Fact is, that is what *I* have to work with. I do plan on doing a better job about it with my littles than I did with my big'uns. The reason for that is because I do believe money skills are necessary for life. I realize that part of that lesson is earning the money, but I don't think THAT is the point for my 4 or 8 year old. I think that making good and poor choices with it from early on and learning from them is more important. They can work on the earning it part as teens when they already have learned to make good choices with what they have. Even though I didn't do as well as I wished with my teens, they both have jobs and do a good job of not overspending their money. We need to do better about cutting them off of our money now! You want more than $X of gluten free food, you need to buy it yourself. You NEED X pairs of underwear; if you want 50 pairs, buy them yourself. And so on. They do not EARN an allowance. Allowance is something given because you are part of the family. Chores are also something one does because you are part of the family. I may, on rare occasions, offer money for some odd job or if there is something else that makes doing it very special. Otherwise, a clean house is a necessity. We also teach that the house should be within 20 minutes of clean at all times. I had a kiddo here, a 10yo, who I didn't know why she was in care. However, I know part of the issue in returning her was that the house needed to be decent. I also knew that this child had WAY too much stuff and it was a battle with her DAILY to not have it ALL over the bedroom (which she shared with my 6yo). I really tried to drill in the point of being neater. The day before she left, we got to give her a reason for the "20 minutes to clean" thing. Oh, ETA: Our base allowance amount is half a child's age. So a four year old gets $2 per week. Also, until they are teens, I don't give larger denominations. Quarters for the very yound, dollar for most ages. A 15yo can have a five if they want though. Edited February 10, 2012 by 2J5M9K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura in MI Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Food and board. Chores are a familial responsibility; I would no more pay a child to mow the lawn than my wife to make dinner or ask a fee for hanging a picture or moving furniture. :iagree: They get an allowance but it's not connected to chores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I don't pay for chores. We are all supposed to help without being paid. But if they want to earn money, they can do special projects (if any are needed). For example, ds could shovel out the mound of icy snow that the town snowplows leave at the end of the driveway. I hate that job! But, if ds shovels snow alongside me, no pay. Ds has scraped/sanded rust off garden tools, cleaned crawl space above garage. None of that is easy money, IMO. I pay extra for good attitude (no complaining, no slacking off), and I have been known to stop the job, if there are complaints about it every 5 minutes. Kids have chores, but, if they are really busy, I will do their chores. If I am frazzled, I expect them to help me out more than usual. One thing I don't want to hear is, "It's not my job." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We pay allowance, not connected to chores. Chores you do because it's part of citizenship to contribute. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Or, if you pay an allowance, what do you kids have to do in order to earn it? Nothing. Their allowance is theirs because we choose to give it to them. They are not adults with jobs, so I don't pay them for routine chores. Chores are expected to be done because they are members of the family. They can earn extra money by doing out-of-the-ordinary jobs that need to be done, but their regular chores (which include setting the table, cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, wiping down doorframes, etc.,) are done free of charge because we all pitch in around the house. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thank you, everyone. You have given me a lot of food for thought. Unfortunately we live in a household where mom does EVERYTHING and she can't keep up anymore. Changing that mindset is going to be a challenge, especially with dh not on board with changes. But, given when you all have had to say about it, I am going to work on a plan. This was more helpful than you know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 we live in a household where mom does EVERYTHING and she can't keep up anymore. I regularly tell my kids that I can't, and shouldn't have to, do everything by myself. I tell my kids that if they want me to be available to do XYZ with/for them, they have to help me out so that I actually have time to do XYZ with/for them. There have been days where I have told my kids, "I'm sorry, but I can't take you to XYZ today. You guys didn't help me out when I asked, so I'm too tired/I don't have enough time to take you." For the most part my kids are pretty good about helping out, but they occasionally try to be lazy. I also tell them, "I am not going to do that for you just because you don't want to do it," and "If it's not important enough for you to do for yourself, it must not be that important to you." At 10, your girls are old enough to understand these things. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovetobehome Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thank you, everyone. You have given me a lot of food for thought. Unfortunately we live in a household where mom does EVERYTHING and she can't keep up anymore. Changing that mindset is going to be a challenge, especially with dh not on board with changes. But, given when you all have had to say about it, I am going to work on a plan. This was more helpful than you know! That was how it was here, too! I got to my breaking point, instituted a list of daily chores for the kids to really take over much of my workload, and they rose to the occasion! Go for it, mama! You'll be glad you did! It is amazing how capable they are, and they improve with time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 LOL, depends on how much I don't want to do it. I pay $5 to wash the car. $1 per toilet and $1 for scrubbing the kitchen baseboards. Twenty-five to fifty cents for most other chores. Our chore philosophy is a lot like Tara's. We give allowance because the kids are a part of the family, so they get a small part of the family's resources. They do regular daily and weekly chores because they are part of the family, so they share a part of the family work. And there are chores that can be done to earn some extra spending money. :) Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brigitte Posted February 10, 2012 Author Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thanks, Tara. They are helpful, when I ask. It is just a matter of my not want to have to ask anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlsdMama Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 I pay them a small fortune... Food, clothing, housing, books, entertainment..... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 :iagree: They get an allowance but it's not connected to chores. This is how it works for us, too. They get 50 cents per year they are old, every week. Of course, money is tight right now, so I've got a ledger for them. They completely understand. Our situation is supposed to get better in the next month, otherwise I would tell them that allowances are postponed unitl things do improve. They put half of their money in a saving account. The rest is usually spent on toys or pokemon cards. They can spend their money on whatever they choose. It's theirs. Savings they can not touch. If they are looking to earn extra money for something they are saving up for, they have extra chores they can do for that. The amount of money is agreed upon before they begin. They must let me know that they are choosing to do the extra job and they must do a thorough and acceptable job to get paid. I also will tip them if they go above and beyond. :tongue_smilie: This arrangement stops them from coming in and saying, "I picked up the back yard and pulled all the weeds. Can I get $5." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 We don't pay them in cash. However, we do pay them chips that can be used for time on electronics. Otherwise, they have no screen time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Haiku Posted February 10, 2012 Share Posted February 10, 2012 Thanks, Tara. They are helpful, when I ask. It is just a matter of my not want to have to ask anymore. Oh. Well that's a different matter entirely. Good luck with that. ;) I don't think it's unusual to have to ask for help. Making a list of chores they are responsible for should help, but I wouldn't expect that you could get away with never having to remind them/prod them. Tara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.