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.
