Mom, where's my allowance?
Today on The Morning Blend we asked viewers about allowances. Does your child get an allowance? If so, how much money do you give them? Do you require household work or chores as part of the negotiation? Do you take away the allowance as a discipline tool?
These are all good questions. Here's my opinion -- kids should get an allowance, the amount should depend on their age and yes, they should do work around the house. I'm not sure that kids should be taught that an allowance is "payment" for the chores -- or chores well done. Rather, I think they should have the impression that doing chores is part of what makes a household work, it's required and the allowance is just something they are given to begin learning some important money management skills.
Money teaches kids how to save, how to spend and how to give to charity. But, they only learn those things if parents lead by example, feel comfortable talking about money and if they teach their children the value of those three things. I think a lot of people think the most important lessons are about saving and giving to chartiy but I personally believe it's just as important -- if not more important -- to learn how to spend wisely. In many ways, that's the biggest challenge.
That's why I don't like the idea of "mad money". To me the term encourages reckless spending. I don't think spending should every be so willy-nilly but I do think it's okay to buy something just because you really want it.
Just so you know - I don't always practice what I preach. I often forget to remind them to set aside money for savings and charity -- and sometimes I fail to teach them about wise spending when they're staring at a box of candy, another purse (when they already have 15 in the closet) and a car that I know will break in a week.
What do you think? I'm dying to hear a variety of viewpoints on this subject!
