All things allowance?

[SJ.]

I am a bit lit in posting this, I meant to post before ds1's birthday. DS1 just turned 8 and it is the age we decided the boys would receive an allowance. Those of you that do an allowance, tell me about it. How much and how often? Do you tie it to chores or behavior? Is there ever a reason you withhold allowance? Do you make your child pay for certain things because he/she receives an allowance? Anything else?

[Tita Gidge]

I used to give an allowance.

 

It was timed according to my paycheck, which was usually twice monthly but occasionally once monthly. My payday was EVERYONE'S payday.

 

I didn't tie it to chores. We don't pay for daily chores, but paid chores were enough that they'd be paid out above and beyond allowances.

 

I didn't tie it to behavior. My philosophy was not to dangle the allowance as the/a carrot to encourage good behavior. It felt (to me) too much like a bribe. I do customer service so I'm sick in general of the "what's in it for me" to do something nice or good or to otherwise be considerate of others. You could say I have issues ;) that influence this for me in terms of allowance!

 

The only times I would withhold allowance was for retribution, and it was more of a banking scenario than one designed to punish. One example was when one child ruined an outfit of another child's (worse because permission hadn't been sought nor granted), so I forwarded the offender's allowance to the victim. I did this because of a previous incident when the same offender "forgot" to right a wrong to the same victim.

 

I made my kids pay for any extras they wanted when we were out and about. They could use allowance for things beyond what I was willing to buy (I'm willing to buy the $50/product, if they want the $80 product then they kick in their allowance). I had them use their money to purchase birthday gifts for friends and each other, though I was usually willing to kick in some for special projects (better wool for a knit item, e.g.)

 

I didn't make my kids shave off x% for tithing, savings, tax, or anything else. I did encourage them to consider it, though, and they did to varying degrees. I figure that's what the teenage years are for, no need to start requiring it now.

 

I stopped doing allowances when my pay went to direct deposit. I never have cash any more, and my bank doesn't have in-person branches LOL.

[Laura Corin]

My boys get an allowance. Hobbes gets £2 and Calvin gets £5. They have to pay for anything they want except for: food, basic clothes, transport, family outings. It's not tied to chores: they have to do those anyway. I pay it in cash weekly.

 

Laura

[Scarlett]

I did it for ds from age 5-10. Not tied to chores which are non-negotiable. I gave one dollar per week per year of his age. I paid him in one dollar bills and helped him divide it up to give/save/spend. I felt it worked well.....I stopped when our life changed drastically and I also told him he was old enough to pick up extra chores when he wants extra stuff.

[TammyinTN]

Our ds is 14 and we give him $25 every two weeks. He likes to have his hair cut twice a month...so I pay once and then he pays once out of his allowance. He buys his extra stuff that we don't purchase...like maybe he will save for an expensive shirt or shoes that I don't see as necessary. This year he paid for all his own gifts for everyone at Christmas and he's saving again for something special. We don't tie it to chores because I want him to understand that one has to save for the things they want in life and it's not automatically going to appear. He will get a 5 dollar increase every two weeks when he turns 15 to keep up with his wants and needs.