Posts Tagged ‘allowance’

Being a stay at home mom has been filled with a lot of adjustments.  There are some that are anticipated, and some that I just never gave much consideration.  When I was working fulltime in addition to overtime and on-call hours, the time I spent with my kids felt minimal and I felt like I spent all of my free time with the kids.  I cleaned and did household duties after they went to bed (again thankful for their early bedtime).  The time with the kids was filled with fun and not a lot of responsibility.

So this brings me to the chores topic.  As of right now neither one of my kids has a chore list or specific things they are responsible for.  My 5 year old feeds the dogs most days, but only upon request.  I usually have to ask, he just doesn’t do it spontaneously.  They don’t have to make their beds, simply because I never get mine made—seems unfair to ask, take out the garbage, nothing.  My kids will once in awhile help me dust or put clothes away after folding them.  They will put their toys away upon request, but if the request isn’t made there they sit.  I can’t tell you how many times our feet have been victim to a puncture wound from a middle of the night, walking in the dark, stepping on a toy incident.

And, now my son has figured out the value of money.  So he wants to get paid for everything.  I don’t know about you, but I never got an allowance.  Once in a while my grandpa would sneak me some money, but it was never contingent upon the stuff I helped him do.  My parents never gave me an allowance that I remember.  I never went without things, they always provided, but I just don’t ever remember earning an allowance.  My husband didn’t either.

So I feel I have this predicament.  Do I start a chore list for my kids?  If so, what is reasonable for them to complete?  Can I make them make their bed if I don’t make my own?  What’s the thing to do with allowances these days?  Now that I’m home and I have so much more time with the kids, I feel like their life shouldn’t just be all fun and games.  They have to learn some of the tough stuff.  I don’t want to raise spoiled kids (although my husband and my parents would probably argue that I was spoiled- but I do think I turned out okay).

What do you do in your home for your kids chore lists?  What age did they start?  Do you give an allowance?

Lately, I’ve noticed many kids not respecting the things that their parents have purchased for them (my kids included).  A new bike gets left out in the rain, a new movie gets scratched, and a new stuffed animal is covered in sticky gunk days after purchasing.  So how do we teach our kids to respect their things?  The last thing that we want is for them to grow up and never learn the value of keeping their things nice.  There are several options obviously but what has really worked with Reece is having him spend his own money on things he really wants, I have noticed that he is much more careful with those items.  He’s less likely to leave them at a friend’s house or outside to weather the elements.

When I was growing up, I don’t remember ever getting an allowance, at least not one that was just given to me for no reason.  When I was Reece’s age – I got $2 a week if I completed all my designated chores.  I could spend that money for TV time (I always spent some of it to watch Full House – I was in loooove with Jesse!), save it, or spend it on something when we went shopping.  My parents also gave me an opportunity to earn more money for doing extra chores.  I don’t really remember ever spending that money weekly except to watch Full House, I think I was born frugal – I loved seeing my piggy bank get full!  The first big purchase that I remember making was when I was 10, I really wanted a mail order Princess Jasmine costume but it was $32 (which even now I think is expensive for a costume, let alone 16+ years ago).  My parents told me that I could have it but I’d have to pay for half of it myself –which I did, and I wore it for several Halloweens after.   I knew how hard I worked to save that money, so I treated the item with respect.  The same goes for the Doc Martens I bought a few years later – my parents thought $110 was a ridiculous amount to spend on a pair of shoes, so they refused to buy them for me.  I wanted them so bad that I bought them for myself and wore them for YEARS (honestly I think I only threw them away a few years ago) – I wanted to get my money’s worth!

Since getting an allowance worked out well for teaching me the value of money, I have been debating giving Reece one. Right now the money that he spends on the things he wants comes from work that he does for me or his grandparents or money that he’s saved from birthdays.  He seems to be grasping the concept of money well based on the statement he made to me the other day, “Mom, I just want to look at the toys, I don’t want you to buy me any.  I don’t want you to have to spend your money because then you’d have to work more to get more and then I wouldn’t get to see you as much.”  So he understands that the only way to get money is by working for it, so do I want to mess with that and start “giving” him an allowance each week (he’d have to complete his chores for it)?

Which brings me to our “Win it Wednesday” – for a chance to win this week, comment below and let me know your thoughts on allowances.  How old are your kids?  Do you give them allowances?  That’s the ONLY thing you have to do to win – if you want extra entries you can do the following (one extra entry for each thing done):

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You can pick your prize this week from a Timmy Time Talking Timmy (ARV $25 - for those who have younger kids) or a Wilson Mini Football (ARV $20 – for those with older kids).  Both would make great additions to any Easter basket!

Giveaway will end March 29^th, 2012 at 11:59 p.m. Winner will be announced on our Facebook page on March 30^th, 2012.