Should you tie your kids’ allowance to chores? Learn how allowances can help your child become money smart!
Kids’ Allowances & Chores
Last week’s interview with Ron Lieber and his book The Opposite of Spoiled had some practical advice about helping kids to be comfortable with both how to handle money and teaching them to be thoughtful with their finances.
One thing we didn’t go over about last week was allowance. Honestly I believe it deserves its own space, which I hope to cover today.
Financial gurus and plenty of parents subscribe to the idea that tying allowance to chores teaches kids valuable lessons, one of the biggest being the connection between work and pay.
With a regular schedule, kids learn to at least budget until their next allowance.
However there is a drawback to attaching allowances with chores – kids can get the idea that they should be paid for all of their household responsibilities.
Or some kids don’t really care about the money and just want to skip on chores.
What do you do then?
Ron Lieber suggests a different approach with allowances. Treat them as a teaching tool for money while leaving essential family chores as cleaning their room, meal preparation and clean-up as a part of their routine.
Your kids can still learn about the value of hard work by offering extra pay for special projects and assignments around the house.
What if kids shirk their responsibilities? Lieber proposes taking away a privilege – internet, phone, or screen time.
Resources on Kids and Allowances
Want to learn more? Here are some resources to check out:
- How to Help Your Kid Become a Money Master, Not Monster
- FamZoo
- 4 Ways Parents Can Teach Their Kids About Money
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Your Thoughts
I’d really like to hear from you. What do you think about allowances? Do you have allowances? How do you handle them in your home and why? For those who have been doing it for some time, how has it been going?
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, discusses how to raise money smart kids who are generous. 
