Every time I read an article like this I have to walk away and calm down. Please remember that one bad mechanic does not spoil the whole bunch. My husband is a auto technician now. He used to be a "mechanic". That's what a good one is today with all the technology that now goes into the cars we drive. Backyard mechanics and many repair shop mechanics don't know how to handle the various computer problems etc. that today's automakers are using. Many people get ripped off when they look for the cheapest way to fix their car. Did you know it's a liability for customers to hang around an auto repair shop? And if you know there's nothing wrong with your car why not fix it yourself. My husband spends thousands of dollars to keep up with the diagnostic tools necessary for the cars out there now. Most people don't have the scanner necessary to diagnose their own car. A good auto tech has kept up with technology. He has the knowledge, experiance and the equipment it takes to "fix" today's vehicles.
We don't pay our kids for chores exactly - but we do give them each $1 on Saturdays (they are ages 4 & 5) for what we call 'teamwork' in our house. If all week long they have been good sports about picking things up, putting laundry in the hamper, bringing their dishes to the sink, etc - they get $1 for teamwork. If we have lots of whining or crying or 'I don't want to pick up my toys' - then they know, that come Saturday, there won't be any 'teamwork bucks' earned...Works for us...for now.
No, I think a better model is to give kids tasks and pay them for a job well done. Similar to chores, but teaching kids how to set up a business or get paid for work teaches them better life skills.
In our house, my children ages 12, 7 and 5 have regular chores (a 15 minute chore each day that they have been known to stretch into a 2 hour chore!) that they do not get paid for. It's a rotating list of things that help their dad and I out, their contribution to the household. I don't get paid for unloading the dishwasher, taking the trash out or tidying up the mudroom so why should they? We then occasionally come up with "pay chores" where they can earn anywhere from 25¢ to upwards of $5 depending on the chore level (staining the fence was a $5 chore that I gladly paid to the oldest just so I didn't have to do it!) If they are doing a pay chore and doing it well with no complaints, they might get a bonus: hopefully teaching them that hard work pays off. If they are assigned a pay chore and don't like the pay or don't want to do it, tough luck, they might not get paid because of their crabby attitude but they still have to do the chore.
I say yes and no. No to being paid for regular chores - being part of a household comes with responsibilities.
However, my mum had a great system for rewarding us for extra chores (things like weeding dandelions from the lawn, or cleaning silver, or organizing stuff for a yard sale) - we collected gold stars on a chart, and hitting a certain number of stars meant a big treat on our family vacation.
My sister Steph was particularly diligent about the extra chores, and I'll never forget the image of her at age 8 - a particularly tiny age 8 - facing down the banana split she had earned from chores. It was the size of her head, and she was so excited. (So were the rest of us - it was clear Steph was going to need help in eating all of it.)
Mum's system was great in that it was low-cost (for her), provided us with a keen and delicious sense of anticipation, and helped get all kinds of house-stuff done that might have languished because it wasn't a priority.
I think that receiving an allowance for doing chores teaches kids right from the start some very important economic lessons about budgeting, scarcity of resources, and decision making. Even about failure as in - that ring pop was such a stupid decision.
(not eligible for giveaway - Aussie - but I want to comment anyway)
As a child I did not get paid for doing chores, and as a latchkey kid with an absent mother and no father, I had to do more than my fair share. I did not get an allowance of any kind.
I was so determined not to bring kids up the way my mother brought me up that I never had any kids. I refused to subject little humans to the same as I received.
I believe children ought to do chores they are physically capable of doing. It teaches responsibility, fosters the feeling of belonging in the family unit and also teaches the value of work/a proper work ethic. I also believe they ought to get an age-based allowance separate to their chores, and also receive a small payment for doing chores over and above their regular list. They ought to be taught about saving for their future needs as well as saving for a specific goal from an early age.
Too many children - and adults - have no clue what it feels like to work hard for a day's pay, to pay their bills and save for a goal, reach it and buy the desired item/adventure/whatever. Too many parents leave teaching a decent work ethic and how to handle money either to chance or "somebody else" - instead or you know, actually parenting their children and teaching them properly.
And I believe it all begins at home, at an early age, with chores and an allowance, lovingly administered, by parents who parent.
I believe children should get paid to do chore. Even adults are very reward centered. Having the payoff of even a small amount of money would help them get used to doing things they may not enjoy because they will eventually be rewarded.
I never paid for normal chores as that is part of being a family but they could do extra things to earn a few dollars prior to actually having a job. Their were paid by performance, so having a good work ethic benefited them financially. Both of my children, started working or regularly volunteering at 13 years old. I believe this is why they have a good work ethic as adults.
We just started giving our two boys (5 & 6) money for chores. They have never been great at the everyday chores like cleaning rooms, making beds, etc. So, we made a chart of 4 daily chores. The goal is to get a "check mark" on each chore every day. When they go three days with complete checks, they earn a dollar. Not only will they learn to do their chores but also how to work for a buck.
I don't believe children should be paid for "normal" chores such as making their bed, picking up toys, and putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket, however I do give my child a little money when they go above and beyond. I had a back injury and my daughter learned to start the laundry, folded it, washed dishes, vacuumed, etc. In that case, I did pay her, but she didn't know I was going to. It was a reward for doing extra work with a good attitude. As these things come up every now and then, or if there is more to do on a certain day than usual, I may say "If you'll help me out with this, I'll give you $(fill in the blank).
I belive that children should have a set of assigned chores that do not receive any compensation, other than the food that they eat and the shelter and ammenities that they enjoy on a day-to-day basis. This helps teach the child the concept that each person is responsible for contributing to the family/community.
Beyond that, I think it is fair and right to give the child some extra duties that can be done in exchange for pay.
I think that kids should be paid for doing chores. I think it teaches a valuable lesson on saving/spending and how much they have to do to earn enough money to pay for something else.
My kids have learned that after earning their allowance they resist buying a bunch of small things while saving up for a large ticket item.
I think chores should be a given in the household. Kids need to learn responsibility and, as part of the family, they need to be expected to participate in routine family life, including chores. An allowance should be given, but it should not be tied to whether they complete chores or not.
I think it's fine to give your kids a small allowance. It can be a good tool to teach them money management and the correlation between work and money.
I followed what my parents did. Kids shouldn't be paid for doing everyday chores. Mom and Dad are not paid to do them. It won't hurt their tender psyches if they are required to do their share of the work (appropriate to their ages , of course. You don't want your 3 year old washing the knives.) Extra chores (painting, cleaning out the garage, etc.) can be paid for.
This is one thing that I'm passionate about. Kids NEED to learn how to manage money. (Parents, if you are neglecting this part of their upbringing, you are not doing your job!) While giving them money for chores is good, I personally think that chores are something that each member of the family should do just because they are a member of the family and as a family, you need to work together for a common goal, whether it be clean dishes or cut grass in the yard. We have lived with the envelope system since we got married (you put the money you have to spend per person for the month in an envelope with their name on it and that has to last you the entire month). Our 2 children have always had envelopes and have taken over the spending of them for their necessities and clothes, with the leftovers for spending or saving for what they'll need in the future (our children are 9 and 11). They are learning to make wise choices and they understand the value of a dollar!
I do not think kids should be paid for chores. The family home is a team effort and you should not have to bribe them to shoulder their responsibilities. Teaching your children team work and that they are a vital member to the success of the family is of the greatest values. Now they should be given and allowance as a way to teach them fiscal responsibility and how to save for their own purchases, but it should not be tied to chores.
I do not think kids should be paid for chores. The family home is a team effort and you should not have to bribe them to shoulder their responsibilities. Teaching your children team work and that they are a vital member to the success of the family is of the greatest values. Now they should be given and allowance as a way to teach them fiscal responsibility and how to save for their own purchases, but it should not be tied to chores.
I think that, in the past, families were able to build a certain amount of a feeling of responsibility within the sons and daughters that truly allowed for chores to be "what we do to help the family". It was natural, in other words, that kids would have chores. You did not have to force kids to help out, but you could if you had to.
Now, it seems, society has made it difficult to create this feeling of responsibility in children. We've created a society of entitlement in adults, and TV is teaching children that you need to have a reward for everything you do.
I plan to have my children help around the house without pay because I feel is the responsibility of all of us that the home is healthy and cared for. But I also plan to teach them about money with an unrelated allowance, so that they learn fiscal responsibility.
Wish me luck!
Every time I read an article like this I have to walk away and calm down. Please remember that one bad mechanic does not spoil the whole bunch. My husband is a auto technician now. He used to be a "mechanic". That's what a good one is today with all the technology that now goes into the cars we drive. Backyard mechanics and many repair shop mechanics don't know how to handle the various computer problems etc. that today's automakers are using. Many people get ripped off when they look for the cheapest way to fix their car. Did you know it's a liability for customers to hang around an auto repair shop? And if you know there's nothing wrong with your car why not fix it yourself. My husband spends thousands of dollars to keep up with the diagnostic tools necessary for the cars out there now. Most people don't have the scanner necessary to diagnose their own car. A good auto tech has kept up with technology. He has the knowledge, experiance and the equipment it takes to "fix" today's vehicles.
We don't pay our kids for chores exactly - but we do give them each $1 on Saturdays (they are ages 4 & 5) for what we call 'teamwork' in our house. If all week long they have been good sports about picking things up, putting laundry in the hamper, bringing their dishes to the sink, etc - they get $1 for teamwork. If we have lots of whining or crying or 'I don't want to pick up my toys' - then they know, that come Saturday, there won't be any 'teamwork bucks' earned...Works for us...for now.
No, I think a better model is to give kids tasks and pay them for a job well done. Similar to chores, but teaching kids how to set up a business or get paid for work teaches them better life skills.
In our house, my children ages 12, 7 and 5 have regular chores (a 15 minute chore each day that they have been known to stretch into a 2 hour chore!) that they do not get paid for. It's a rotating list of things that help their dad and I out, their contribution to the household. I don't get paid for unloading the dishwasher, taking the trash out or tidying up the mudroom so why should they? We then occasionally come up with "pay chores" where they can earn anywhere from 25¢ to upwards of $5 depending on the chore level (staining the fence was a $5 chore that I gladly paid to the oldest just so I didn't have to do it!) If they are doing a pay chore and doing it well with no complaints, they might get a bonus: hopefully teaching them that hard work pays off. If they are assigned a pay chore and don't like the pay or don't want to do it, tough luck, they might not get paid because of their crabby attitude but they still have to do the chore.
I say yes and no. No to being paid for regular chores - being part of a household comes with responsibilities.
However, my mum had a great system for rewarding us for extra chores (things like weeding dandelions from the lawn, or cleaning silver, or organizing stuff for a yard sale) - we collected gold stars on a chart, and hitting a certain number of stars meant a big treat on our family vacation.
My sister Steph was particularly diligent about the extra chores, and I'll never forget the image of her at age 8 - a particularly tiny age 8 - facing down the banana split she had earned from chores. It was the size of her head, and she was so excited. (So were the rest of us - it was clear Steph was going to need help in eating all of it.)
Mum's system was great in that it was low-cost (for her), provided us with a keen and delicious sense of anticipation, and helped get all kinds of house-stuff done that might have languished because it wasn't a priority.
When I have kids, I plan to do the same thing.
I liked you on fb
I think that receiving an allowance for doing chores teaches kids right from the start some very important economic lessons about budgeting, scarcity of resources, and decision making. Even about failure as in - that ring pop was such a stupid decision.
(not eligible for giveaway - Aussie - but I want to comment anyway)
As a child I did not get paid for doing chores, and as a latchkey kid with an absent mother and no father, I had to do more than my fair share. I did not get an allowance of any kind.
I was so determined not to bring kids up the way my mother brought me up that I never had any kids. I refused to subject little humans to the same as I received.
I believe children ought to do chores they are physically capable of doing. It teaches responsibility, fosters the feeling of belonging in the family unit and also teaches the value of work/a proper work ethic. I also believe they ought to get an age-based allowance separate to their chores, and also receive a small payment for doing chores over and above their regular list. They ought to be taught about saving for their future needs as well as saving for a specific goal from an early age.
Too many children - and adults - have no clue what it feels like to work hard for a day's pay, to pay their bills and save for a goal, reach it and buy the desired item/adventure/whatever. Too many parents leave teaching a decent work ethic and how to handle money either to chance or "somebody else" - instead or you know, actually parenting their children and teaching them properly.
And I believe it all begins at home, at an early age, with chores and an allowance, lovingly administered, by parents who parent.
I believe children should get paid to do chore. Even adults are very reward centered. Having the payoff of even a small amount of money would help them get used to doing things they may not enjoy because they will eventually be rewarded.
I never paid for normal chores as that is part of being a family but they could do extra things to earn a few dollars prior to actually having a job. Their were paid by performance, so having a good work ethic benefited them financially. Both of my children, started working or regularly volunteering at 13 years old. I believe this is why they have a good work ethic as adults.
I am a FB Friend!
We just started giving our two boys (5 & 6) money for chores. They have never been great at the everyday chores like cleaning rooms, making beds, etc. So, we made a chart of 4 daily chores. The goal is to get a "check mark" on each chore every day. When they go three days with complete checks, they earn a dollar. Not only will they learn to do their chores but also how to work for a buck.
I don't believe children should be paid for "normal" chores such as making their bed, picking up toys, and putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket, however I do give my child a little money when they go above and beyond. I had a back injury and my daughter learned to start the laundry, folded it, washed dishes, vacuumed, etc. In that case, I did pay her, but she didn't know I was going to. It was a reward for doing extra work with a good attitude. As these things come up every now and then, or if there is more to do on a certain day than usual, I may say "If you'll help me out with this, I'll give you $(fill in the blank).
I belive that children should have a set of assigned chores that do not receive any compensation, other than the food that they eat and the shelter and ammenities that they enjoy on a day-to-day basis. This helps teach the child the concept that each person is responsible for contributing to the family/community.
Beyond that, I think it is fair and right to give the child some extra duties that can be done in exchange for pay.
I think that kids should be paid for doing chores. I think it teaches a valuable lesson on saving/spending and how much they have to do to earn enough money to pay for something else.
My kids have learned that after earning their allowance they resist buying a bunch of small things while saving up for a large ticket item.
Tweeted on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/#!/1bets1/status/90766114056970243
I think chores should be a given in the household. Kids need to learn responsibility and, as part of the family, they need to be expected to participate in routine family life, including chores. An allowance should be given, but it should not be tied to whether they complete chores or not.
I liked your post on Facebook.
I thing kids should get a treat for a job well done, but not a "salary."
I think it's fine to give your kids a small allowance. It can be a good tool to teach them money management and the correlation between work and money.
I followed what my parents did. Kids shouldn't be paid for doing everyday chores. Mom and Dad are not paid to do them. It won't hurt their tender psyches if they are required to do their share of the work (appropriate to their ages , of course. You don't want your 3 year old washing the knives.) Extra chores (painting, cleaning out the garage, etc.) can be paid for.
This is one thing that I'm passionate about. Kids NEED to learn how to manage money. (Parents, if you are neglecting this part of their upbringing, you are not doing your job!) While giving them money for chores is good, I personally think that chores are something that each member of the family should do just because they are a member of the family and as a family, you need to work together for a common goal, whether it be clean dishes or cut grass in the yard. We have lived with the envelope system since we got married (you put the money you have to spend per person for the month in an envelope with their name on it and that has to last you the entire month). Our 2 children have always had envelopes and have taken over the spending of them for their necessities and clothes, with the leftovers for spending or saving for what they'll need in the future (our children are 9 and 11). They are learning to make wise choices and they understand the value of a dollar!
I do not think kids should be paid for chores. The family home is a team effort and you should not have to bribe them to shoulder their responsibilities. Teaching your children team work and that they are a vital member to the success of the family is of the greatest values. Now they should be given and allowance as a way to teach them fiscal responsibility and how to save for their own purchases, but it should not be tied to chores.
I do not think kids should be paid for chores. The family home is a team effort and you should not have to bribe them to shoulder their responsibilities. Teaching your children team work and that they are a vital member to the success of the family is of the greatest values. Now they should be given and allowance as a way to teach them fiscal responsibility and how to save for their own purchases, but it should not be tied to chores.
I think that, in the past, families were able to build a certain amount of a feeling of responsibility within the sons and daughters that truly allowed for chores to be "what we do to help the family". It was natural, in other words, that kids would have chores. You did not have to force kids to help out, but you could if you had to.
Now, it seems, society has made it difficult to create this feeling of responsibility in children. We've created a society of entitlement in adults, and TV is teaching children that you need to have a reward for everything you do.
I plan to have my children help around the house without pay because I feel is the responsibility of all of us that the home is healthy and cared for. But I also plan to teach them about money with an unrelated allowance, so that they learn fiscal responsibility.
Wish me luck!