Chores for Earning Allowance

When it comes to teaching children about managing money, there are two camps that are split along the line of how they actually earn the money. Camp one gives children allowance for chores. Camp two, which doesn’t like the chores tied in as it is a reward system, just gives children money each week and then teaches them how to manage. I am firmly in camp one. If you just give children the money, they are missing half the lesson as there is no effort towards earning it. To a camp two child, spending four dollars is the same as spending eight dollars you just have to wait a while to collect it. Life doesn’t work this way, in life people have to earn it.

That said, the worry of camp two includes the notion that if you pay your children for all their work efforts, you won’t be able to get them to do much of anything else. There should be responsibilities they are not paid for, they participate just because they are part of the family. I completely agree here. In my house, we started with chores you do because you are part of the family and then gradually added chores for allowance. Even now, their chore chart reflects this split.

When you start chores, aim for daily activities as this is easier to manage. Keep a chart to organize the list and encourage children to track their own progress. In the beginning, and as you add new chores to the list, help children to be successful at meeting the goals. As needed, do the chores with them, teach them how to use the chart and congratulate weekly successes.