Menu
- Parenting
I’m a bit behind when it comes to allowances—my oldest is already eleven, and we haven’t adopted that practice at all. My children don’t receive any money for cleaning their rooms, loading the dishwasher, or picking up their scattered belongings that seem to occupy every inch of floor space in our home. After years of threats involving garbage bags, they’ve learned to tidy up when I ask, mostly because they know I can flip from calm to a cleaning frenzy in no time.
Offering them money for these tasks now would feel like backtracking.
I understand the importance of teaching my kids about the value of a dollar, responsible money management, and saving techniques. However, to be honest, I’m still figuring out those skills myself. Experts suggest that I should give my kids a weekly allowance—let’s say five dollars—but not as payment for chores. Rather, they suggest this money is for learning about finances, not for earning it. So, essentially, they get cash just for existing? Lucky kids!
According to experts, children can learn to save their allowances for things like bikes or musical instruments. If my daughter had her way, she’d save for gigantic tubs of paint to swim in! I appreciate this perspective; it teaches kids the real value of money and encourages them to save rather than impulsively purchase every cute item that pops up on social media.
But here’s how money typically exchanges hands in my house due to sheer laziness:
Me: “I’ll give you a dollar if you bike over to our neighbor’s for some eggs.”
Kid: “Sure!”
And then we both forget about the dollar until we’re at a store, at which point my kid suddenly remembers, resulting in me buying markers or other random junk. I can only imagine how parenting experts would react to my methods. Clearly, I’m not doing this right.
Growing up, I did not receive an allowance either. Living in a remote area, there was nowhere to spend money. You don’t need cash to have fun on hay bales! The things I wanted—bikes, instruments, clothes—came as presents for birthdays or Christmas. This might explain my relaxed approach to allowances and money management. However, I did work during summers from the age of fourteen, tackling some pretty miserable jobs, including washing dishes at a Mexican restaurant. That experience taught me that if I wanted to avoid such work in the future, I better focus on getting a college degree to earn a better income.
While I recognize that giving my kids an allowance could help them learn about finances, I’m not organized enough to consistently hand out a fixed amount each week or to assign dollar values for specific chores. I simply can’t keep track of it all. My kids will probably have to find jobs when they’re older and learn about money the way I did—like scraping old cheese off plates in a restaurant kitchen while trying not to gag.
Sometimes, I wish I could be a more responsible adult, capable of doing all those grown-up things the experts recommend, like keeping my car clean, organizing my Tupperware, or paying bills punctually. Honestly, I once accidentally put a potato through the washing machine. How does that even happen?
Yes, I probably should improve my approach to teaching my kids about money, and I know I need to enhance my own money skills too. I’m a work in progress. Teaching them the value of a dollar is one of the best gifts I could offer them, potentially sparing them from an Amazon shopping addiction or anxiety when they step into a store like Target.
But for now, I’ve decided not to give my kids money for doing what they’re supposed to do anyway. It’s not that the experts advise against it; it’s simply that I don’t want to.
For more insights on parenting, you might find articles about boosting fertility supplements or resources on home insemination helpful.
Summary:
In this candid reflection on parenting, the author shares her decision not to pay her kids for chores, citing a lack of organization and a desire to instill the value of responsibility. She discusses her own upbringing without an allowance and acknowledges the importance of teaching her children about money management. While she recognizes the benefits of allowances, she ultimately chooses to prioritize accountability over financial incentives.
Keyphrase: parenting and allowances
Tags: [“home insemination kit”, “home insemination syringe”, “self insemination”]