Should children get an allowance?

@Amstardam (1348)
United States
July 7, 2007 1:21am CST
I think I'm going to give my son an allowance when he's older. But he'll have to work for it. He will have chores and earn it. I don't think giving an undeserved allowance teaches a child about how the world works. What do you think?
2 people like this
9 responses
@wilynn (751)
• Singapore
9 Jul 07
I think a basic allowance is necessary. Some incentives such as earning by doing house work or getting a bonus if he gets an A will make him work harder. Some people don't like this method but for me I like. My dad treated me like that when I was young. I think its a good way. ANyway, when you become an adult, you go to work, doesn't that pay you as well? Some may think otherwise but I kind of really like this scheme.
• United States
9 Jul 07
When we were growing up, we all had chores, and that was how we earned our allowance. If we didn't do the chores, we didn't get paid. I think it definitely helped to teach my siblings and I about responsibility and something about how the world worked. Also, our allowance was very small. In the late 80s, when I was a teenager, I was still only getting 35 cents a week, like my siblings. 35 cents wasn't going to buy us much, so we also learned about saving for things that we wanted.
@GardenGerty (157027)
• United States
8 Jul 07
I have always come out on the wrong side with my opinion. I cannot tell you which experts, but some I saw on television, and some I read from, said, basically : "All members of the family should have some part of the wealth of the family. A small child does not need a large share, but a little bit of money, just because he is a part of the family." The experts also said, "All members of the family are part of the family and so take part of the responsibility for the upkeep of the family and home. They should do chores whether they get money or not. It is mistaken to pay allowance for chores, because then children think that they must be paid for everything they do for the home, instead of doing it because the home is where they live". Now I did let the kids do extra work for extra money. They got allowance with no strings attached. From it they paid for things that I would not buy them, and from it they paid for overdue library books. A pop after school. They saved up for things like Game Boys, and Papasan chairs, and felt good about it.
@wiccania (3360)
• United States
7 Jul 07
I think it's a good idea to give a child allowance, but if you're going to do that, you need to make them earn it for starters. But also, they shouldn't be able to get anything they want just by asking for it. THey should learn to make good choices about how to spend their money. I never got an allowance, but if I asked for money to go to the movies or skating or something, I usually got it -- as long as my room was cleaned and I had done everything I'd been asked to do in the past week. I also occasionally got assigned specific chores to do in order to earn the money I was asking for. When I got the money, all I got was the price of admission and an extra dollar or so for a drink or something. But I had a number of friends who did get a regular allowance, $5-10 a week no matter what. And at the end of allowance day they had nothing left (spent on candy and stuff at the corner store). When they asked for more money to do things they wanted, it was handed to them. What kind of lesson did that teach? The first time any of them was told "no" when they asked for more money they threw a horrible fit and said they were being treated unfairly.
@ibuemma (2953)
• United States
7 Jul 07
My two daughters are still too young. But yes when they get older, they get allowance if they do their chores. I agree it will give them an idea how the it works in real life. LOL..."look at mommy, mommy still gotta sit and make posting and response in front of the computer in order to get paid by mylot" LOL...hahahhaha
• United States
8 Jul 07
I have a system where there is a set amount the kids get paid for each chore they do.. for example if they wash dishes they get 1.00. They can only make a total of $3 a day. If they don't do the chores, they don't get the money. I don't nag them, but when they come to us for money, they don't have any. It seems to work pretty well for our family. They are all teenagers, so they are old enough to understand you have to work if you want paid.
@Nardz13 (5055)
• New Zealand
7 Jul 07
Hi there. I agree, allowance has to be earned so that children learn as they get older, lifes not all free, that you must work and sacrife for some things in life... I have 2 children and they get an allowance every week, because they both have a set of chores that needs doing everyday of the week and this makes them feel responsible, trusted, appreciated for what they've done and excited to know that if they do there chores they are rewarded with pay and this teaches and prepares them for there lives as they grow...
@auLeeau (253)
• China
7 Jul 07
that is pretty cool.kids should be taught no free lunch, they have to work hard for any allowance,that is hard making money.
@icedventi (155)
• United States
7 Jul 07
I think children need an allowance in order to learn responsiblity. That way you can teach them that if they really want something, they need to save their own money for it. My kid's only 4 months old but he's definitely going to get an allowance once he's old enough to understand it. And I will give him a some chores around the house so that he'll understand he has to earn it. When I was younger, my parents gave me $20 a week for doing pretty much nothing. Plus they bought me whatever I wanted so I really didn't learn any responsiblity and ended up getting into a good bit of credit card debt when I went to college. Hopefully I'll be able to teach my child the important of saving money so that he won't end up in debt like I did.