Allowance? What's fair?!

Kathleen - posted on 12/26/2011

Our son gets $11 a week. This is his allowance and not for chores. We expect chores to be completed because he lives in our home. His regular chores include cleaning his room, taking laundry to and from the laundry room, setting the table or doing dishes; cleaning the bathroom, mowing the lawn/shoveling snow; wiping down the baseboards in his room and hallway.

However, when someone else has to do his chores, he has to pay them. (Usually me!) Also, if it isn't on his regular chore list, we pay him a "fair wage" which we determined based on what we'd have paid a neighborhood kid to do the same. (i.e. bag leaves)

We did the same with our older kids and found it worked pretty well. Our oldest son rarely got his allowance since he didn't get his chores done. When they moved out (they are 24, 31 and 35) they didn't have to learn how to take care of their homes. It came naturally.

Shana - posted on 08/02/2010

I have 4 boys and they have a list of jobs that they must do, they are paid at a rate of a dollar a day because many of the jobs on the list are really just to make my life easier....(clothes away,feeding animals, doing dishes etc) but they do have an opportunity to earn "bonus" money ie my 10yr old loves to hand out the washing and he has resently started putting on a load when he he hangs out a load...I pay him an extra dollar if he does it to "surprise" me.

I have found that by making a list and paying on daily basis the younger kids feel that they can manage too (I have also have made "mummy money" - so I can always pay-on-day!)

Heather - posted on 06/09/2010

I pay my son 4 dollars a week since he is going to be in 4th grade. i just upped his allowance because of him going to a higher grade. he does the trash and recycling every week. we alternate dishes and folding laundry every week. and now he has to clean the litter box each week. but i keep up with it through the week. and i make him save about half of his allowance too. He also has to keep his room picked up each week.

Tracy - posted on 04/30/2010

hi, ive had my 10 yo on a basic program for about 2 years he gets $10 a week to feed all the animals, empty the trash in to the big bins and put them out each week for collection.he also keeps his room tidy at no cost which he does a good job of. if there are any other jobs to b done most of the time he will do without expectation of further payment. i also make him save his allowance for items he want rather than wasteing it on junk. the last time he spent money was on a computer game worth $90 which he happily saved 9 weeks for. i also have an insentive for him if he reaches $100 in his bank account which is $25 this also encourages him to save.