Parenting
As a parent, I find myself rather late in the game regarding allowances, especially considering my eldest child is now eleven. Neither of my kids receives payment for cleaning their rooms, loading the dishwasher, or tidying up their scattered belongings that seem to multiply across every available surface. After years of playful threats involving garbage bags, they now comply with my requests because they know I can morph from calm to frantic cleaning mode in mere seconds.
Offering them money for these tasks would feel like a step backward. I am aware that I need to instill in them the importance of financial responsibility—how to manage money and save for future needs. However, I am still figuring these concepts out myself.
According to various experts, the recommendation is to provide children with a weekly allowance, perhaps around five dollars. This money isn’t meant to be payment for chores, as those are simply part of family life. So essentially, the allowance is just for existing? What a fantastic time to be a kid!
Experts suggest that this system allows children to learn about saving for items they desire, such as bicycles, musical instruments, or, in my daughter’s case, vast quantities of paint for swimming. I understand the reasoning behind this approach, as it teaches kids the value of money and the importance of saving rather than spending impulsively on cute boots showcased in Facebook ads.
However, the reality in my household typically goes like this due to our laid-back attitude:
Me: “I’ll give you a dollar if you ride your bike to the neighbors and grab some eggs.”
Child: “Sure!”
And then we both forget about the dollar until we’re at the store, where my child suddenly remembers, and I find myself purchasing markers or some other random items. Parenting experts would probably be horrified at my approach.
Growing up, I didn’t receive an allowance, mostly because I lived in a remote area with limited places to spend money. I didn’t need cash for playing on hay bales. The things I wanted—bikes, instruments, clothing—were gifts for birthdays or holidays. This might explain my relaxed stance on allowances and money management. I did, however, work every summer from the age of fourteen, taking on various unglamorous jobs, including washing dishes at a local restaurant. This experience taught me the importance of higher education if I wanted to avoid similar work in the future.
While I understand that providing my children with an allowance could facilitate their understanding of money, I’m not organized enough to remember to hand out a set amount each week or to calculate payments for chores. I admit, I’m not that responsible. So, for now, I think my kids will need to find jobs when they’re old enough, learning about finances as I did—perhaps through experiences like scrubbing old dinner plates in a restaurant kitchen while staving off nausea.
Occasionally, I wish I were more adept at adult responsibilities—keeping my car tidy, organizing my Tupperware, paying bills punctually, and giving my children an allowance. Just today, I accidentally washed a potato in the laundry. How does that even happen?
Yes, I recognize that I should improve my efforts in teaching my children about finances. And yes, I need to educate myself in this regard too. I’m a work in progress. Providing my kids with the opportunity to learn the value of money could help them grow up without an addiction to online shopping or anxiety when they visit stores like Target.
But for now, I won’t be compensating my children for tasks that they should do as part of our family dynamic—not because the experts suggest otherwise, but simply because I choose not to.
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Summary
This article discusses the author’s decision not to provide an allowance to her children for completing household chores. While she acknowledges the importance of teaching financial responsibility, her current approach is more relaxed, reflecting her own upbringing and experiences. The author recognizes the need to improve her financial management skills and instill values in her children but ultimately chooses not to pay them for tasks that are part of family life.