Elem school age Moms - Feedback on allowance

My 7 year old wants to do chores around the house to earn allowance. He currently does smaller things like picking up his messes and cleaning up table area etc. But he & my 5 yr old sat and wrote a whole list of things they could do (on their own - so cute!) to earn allowance. Some of the things were unrealistic but we could come up with putting clothes away, taking garbage to outside can, making bed, and a few more realistic things. Should doing homework at a reasonable pace (and without grief) be included?

So how much is the going rate for 7 year olds? I'm honestly not sure what is a good amount per week. And then, if you do give allowance, do you allow them to spend as they want? (ie, if he wants to get a toy or bring some to buy a treat) Put a % away for savings?

Any thoughts?

Re: Elem school age Moms - Feedback on allowance

We've been going through this with my DD as well. Problem is, she can barely keep her OWN room clean. She knows she won't get allowance for cleaning her room, so she wants to do the other stuff first. If she cleans her room, then I let her help with other stuff. If she helps for a FULL week straight, I give her $5.00. That goes in her wallet that she has that she can buy whatever she wants. A lot of that over the summer was the ice cream man, but she understood that when the money was gone, that was it.

Re: Elem school age Moms - Feedback on allowance

I am not a school age Mom but my neice and nephew are at the age where they want allowances and we were discussing this last night. First-make each chore worth something(say $2 or whatever) I believe homework is a duty not a chore so no I would not pay for that-however if you want them not to dawdle you can always say whomever has their homework done first(and correctly) can pick dinner-or whatever would work in your house.

ETA I would probably have my kids spend 50% and save 50% and maybe talk to them about budgeting-eg don't blow your 50% on lollipops or whatever

Message edited 9/19/2009 10:24:31 PM.

Re: Elem school age Moms - Feedback on allowance

There are certain things that are expected of them per day...Keep their room clean, clean up after themselves, do their homework, and turn off lights & tvs after they leave a room.

For those things they do not get an allowance. It is what is expected of them as a member of our family.

They get an allowance for emptying the dishwasher, doing laundry, vacuuming, bathroom duty, & dusting.

For this they get $7 per week....

Re: Elem school age Moms - Feedback on allowance

In our house we give an allowance equal to their age per week(7yrs=$7), so it goes up with each birthday! They are expected to keep their rooms clean and make their beds which is not for money. Then they also keep their bathroom clean, take the trash down to the basement, help with the vacuuming, bring up the water for the water cooler(I get the smaller bottles so they can do it), bring in all grocery bags, help with the laundry, etc.! The older one saves everything and he has a good amount in the bank and the middle one saves 50% so he always complains his brother has so much more money!:)
The cutest thing is now my 22 month old wants to help bring the trash down! When I ask who's turn it is he says"me"!! LOL

Message edited 9/20/2009 12:17:56 AM.

Re: Elem school age Moms - Feedback on allowance

My DD ges $5 per week.

Re: Elem school age Moms - Feedback on allowance

Liz - I had seen a financial advisor I think on Oprah, who talked about "Spend, save, donate, invest" and how KEY those 4 options were, and to teach kids etc.
my 7yr old is fascinated by investing and earning a % on it
Very often, we go through toys to donate, so they know the concept, but we havent done it with their own money yet
and theyve both been pretty good with saving $ in their wallets, i dont let them spend it freely.

there a great website for charts, i cant think of it right now, I can google chore charts and get back to you.
I dont have a system set in place, I try every now and then and it fizzles out, but they love and thrive on it, so I gotta get on it again !
I even have them picking out their outfits, setting up lunchboxes, etc, the night before, we'll see if we can make it last.

and i havent started allowance yet, so not sure how I will deal with that whole thing, (letting them spend) let me know how it goes






ETA: Found it, I know there are tons of sites but this is the one I used, they hve lots of cute charts


CHART JUNGLE

Message edited 9/20/2009 8:30:05 AM.