Back in the day, kids were expected to help with household chores without question. Parents would never pay them for contributing to the basic things that kept the household running smoothly. Everyone did their part — including children. Somewhere along the line, that changed.
Nowadays, many parents give an allowance for basic chores, withholding the money when the chores aren’t done. Some other families give an allowance to kids even with no chores at all.
In my opinion, things work best when there are mandatory chores — things each child must do just because he/she is part of the family — and extra, bigger tasks that the child may get paid for doing. However that system might not work for everyone.
I know one mother that pays her teenagers a weekly allowance, but then also expects the kids to pay for their own school lunches, clothes and other necessities.
I know another family that pays an allowance for basic chores, but requires kids to put half their allowance in savings. And still another family doesn’t give any allowance, but never says “No” when their kids ask for money.
How do you handle chores and allowance in your home?
