I used to, but don't anymore. A couple years ago we started giving our children allowance of 10 cents per year of age (5 = 50 cents). It was working great...for a while. But we found that when our children didn't have to do anything to get that money, they became really demanding. They started to have the attitude that we owed them money just for them being in our family.
Yeah, that's not okay.
So, Jeremy and I got rid of allowance. No longer do you get paid just for gracing us with your presence dear children! I have to work for my money, so why shouldn't they?
This weekend, we instituted the Job Jar. This magnificent little jar has stopped the "give me money" syndrome that was taking over our house. The children love going and picking a color and a job and then getting to work!
Here are the rules - you can not earn more than $3.00 a week. You can not earn any money from the Job Jar until your chores that you have to do are done. Once a chore is done, that stick is taken from the job jar until Mom needs it done again.
The jobs are broken into payment categories. Orange is the easiest and therefore worth the least amount (10 cents). Blue is the hardest and worth the most (50 cents).
Our children have to put 10% of their earnings into savings and 10% to charity. We want them to learn not only to work hard for their money, but to be smart with it and give to others.
My hope is that this is something we can do for as long as our children are in the house. I want to inspire them to do their best and to give them opportunities to earn money by working hard.
Do you do allowance in your house? If not, what do you do when your kids want money? How do you inspire your children to work and do a good job?
This post is part of the Hallmark Life is a Special Occasion Campaign. I am lucky enough to be blogging for Hallmark the rest of this year about different topics. This month's theme is inspiration, and I want to know how you inspire your kids to work hard! Be sure to head over to Hallmark's site and sign up for their newsletters. Who knows, I might even pop up in one of the newsletters! Also, at the bottom of the page, you can see all the Hallmark Bloggers and read what everyone has to say. It is truly inspiring reading!
While I am compensated to write this post, as always the words are all mine and can not be bought.
8 comments:
We believe in allowance being separate from chores. Because no one gets paid for making our household nice and run smoothly! So they are separate.
I read The Parenting Breakthrough by Merilee Boyack (which I can NOT recommend enough) and we follow a loose guide from there.
We do allowance based on a chore chart....though I have to admit I'm really loving the job jar idea. :)
I had found a chore chart online with different tabs you could put up...they are pretty close to the same except Grant has a few that Gracie just couldn't do. For instance take out the trash. We take our trash to the farm's dumpster which is across the farm drive and back by the grain bins so he has to pull a wagon with the trash in it across the drive where farm traffic is and Gracie couldn't lift the trash bags in to the dumpster. But other then that it's all pretty close. Gracie unloads the silverware in the dishwasher while Grant is in charge of the dishes. etc. Each things is worth 20 cents. If they complete the "extra help" tab then I include a dollar extra. The extra help tab is whatever I call it. :)
Is the first cousin of the family 'Chore Chart' with the gingham pockets???
Wow. What a great idea. I know that Simon would LOVE to work. He's always asking how he can earn some money.
Our house is the same- you only get paid to work. Personal chores (making your bed/cleaning up after yourself/puting clothes away) don't count as work.
We pay our kids to do jobs. There are some things they have to do that do not earn money. As they get older we adjust. For example, when we first started paying them for chores we would pay them to clean their room, just to get used to the idea. Now cleaning their room is a regular responsibility and not something they get paid to do. We don't limit how much they can earn a week though. We also make them save and give a portion. It is a system that is always in flux as we refine and adjust. We're a little behind in payroll right now. ;)
I'm loving this idea and it's pretty simple which is good for not only them but ME too! HA! Thanks Kim, now I just need to go buy the sticks and figure out the chores...
My kids are too young now, but I definitely plan on doing something similar when they're older. Right now the almost 3 year old has little jobs... like picking up the books every day, and turning off all the lights before we leave the house, etc. Just enough to give her some responsibility. And of course they both have to help clean up toys after we play with them.
I totally have "chore sticks" too...love them! We've been doing this for a couple of years...got the idea because I had those craft sticks bought and never did anything with them. Then got the idea to write chores on them and pay per stick. Works like a charm, especially when the kids are low in money. I might have to make some bigger job sticks up and pay more for those...my big girls could totally do that and would appreciate a little more $$$ in their purses! Enjoy your clean house! :)
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