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What Allowances Do I Make For My Kids?May 05 '01 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line I feel that allowances should be made and lessons should be taught along the way.
First off, I would like to say that my toddler is to young to receive or understand what a monetary allowance is. He does receive what he feels is an allowance. He is still potty training. When ever he takes the initiative to use the bathroom on his own he is praised and rewarded with a little sticker that he places on his shirt. I feel that he should be compensated for doing his duty. I don't feel that this is harmful in any way. Stickers are a lot cheaper than diapers as well. I don't feel like this is a bribe, but rather a reward that makes him feel really good. As far as my ten year old is concerned I do allow for her to have allowances. Instead of giving her money, on occasion I let her pick out an item at the store and I give her a certain limit on how much the item can be worth. I do not tell her that in order for her to get an allowance she must do her chores. Her chores are expected to be done. She has a list of things that she has do. For instance she must feed and water all three of her dogs and rabbit each day. I am not going to pay her to do this because it is her responsibility. She is also expected to spend a half hour each night cleaning her room and getting her things ready for the next day at school. I do not feel that I should have to pay her for this either. If she makes a mess in her room, I should not have to pay her to clean it up. I reward my daughter when she does little things that aren't expected of her. For instance, one day I was sick really bad with new medication I had been taking. She cleaned the kitchen on her own with out me asking her to do anything. She surprised me and the family with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. When I felt better I treated my daughter to a new set of gel pens with a pad of paper. She did not feel that I owed her anything. I just wanted to show her how much I appreciated the little things that she does. If my daughter were to come out and ask me for an allowance I would ask her why she wanted one. If she were saving up for a certain item I would allow for her to do extra chores around the house so that she could get this item. I would not give her a weekly allowance as she would not be able to save her money at this age. She would give in and spend her money on little items that were cheap in quality and would break in a few days. Rather, I would make sure that she obtained her goal. I would not let her give in and settle for something other than what she wanted. I think that this teaches her to have patience and hold out for her dreams. This lesson can be rather difficult, especially when she wants a larger item like a CD player. We might have an agreement that this item might take her weeks to earn. She might complain after a few days of chores but if she follows through with our plan she feels like she has earned it. She has something to show for her hard work and something that will last her more than a day. I have tested this theory and tried giving her a weekly allowance. She decided that after saving ten dollars for a twenty dollar craft kit she wanted, that instead she wanted to spend it at a dollar store. She bought ten one dollar items that she realized she did not want to begin with. These items were very cheap in quality and they broke. She learned a lesson in this. She learned that she should have waited and saved a little longer to get that craft kit. She then realized that she had to start over from square one to save for that craft kit. She realized she had nothing to show for her hard work. On occasion, when I am in the grocery store I will give her my change when I make a purchase. We save this money in a jar and call it our mad money. We save up and take little trips like going to the zoo. She is amazed to see how fast saving change can add up. While I do not let her spend this money, I do let her keep track of it in her room. I think that this is teaching her a good lesson about saving. Overall, I feel that my way of giving her allowances work well for us. I will continually try and think of ways of improving our system and hopefully I will be teaching her some lessons along the way.  |
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