A: Giving a child an allowance is a great idea and can instill a good work ethic can teach the value of money at an early age. My first thoughts as to when to give an allowance would be as soon as they can count and learn how to do simple chores. There are a few guide lines that I would recommend following.
The first one is consistence on the part of you and the child. As a fellow parent I realize life can become very fast and we may forget about things at times. However a chore list with rewards cannot be overlooked. Children do not have a proper concept of time and it does not matter that our lives are rushed, they will remember that it is allowance time.
Children also have to have the consistence message of what is expected of them and what they will get in return. An allowance does not always have to be monetary. It can be a reward of a certain toy or event that they want. If you are doing a monetary allowance, have discussions over how much money they get at a time and what it is spent on.
Have this be a teachable moment where they can learn about delayed gratification. They will thank you for it in the future. Having a visable chart that shows in pictures what they need to do and have some type of reward attached to the chart would be a definite asset. Also do not exaggerate what they will get for the job they did. This will teach your child unrealistic rewards and this can come back to haunt you in the future.
Here is another reward system you may want to consider “Use Your Marbles”
Do you have allowances for some of your children? What are their ages and what do they do?
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Maple Leaf Mommy
Sunday 7th of November 2010
This has been up for debate in our household lately. I want to start giving our three year old an allowance (I'm think 50 cents a week), and my husband thinks she's too young. We were using pennies as rewards for potty training. She keeps it in a piggy bank, saves up and buys little things like dinky cars. Now that she's got the toilet thing down pat, she's missing the money.
sara
Friday 5th of November 2010
I don't think that an allowance is a bad idea. However, I want my kids to know that there are certain things you do to help your family out because that is what family does and that you are not always due something in return. All of the children have chores around the house, they are rewarded in nonmonetary ways. They do however get money for birthdays and other special occassions from grandparents and us, if that's what they chose to have. Each child then chooses to spend it or save it. They are pretty good at picking and choosing what they want to spend their money on.
Jessie
Friday 5th of November 2010
My daughter just turned 4 and she gets an allowance of $2 each week. She has to make her bed, pick up her stuffed animals, set the table (which she loves) and she can help with anything else she would like. She loves to help - and runs to put laundry away when she sees me folding it. I think an allowance at her age is great - we have been giving her one for about 6 months. She is very proud to earn her money, and she is also proud to save it up to buy something that she wants. I think that as long as the child is ready, chores teach them how to follow simple directs, and helps build a work ethic and a sense of pride in the work that they have done.