How to give kids an allowance

by Jen (April 27, 2007)

The Boston Globe has a report on a study that "unflatteringly describes today’s collegians as the most narcissistic and self-centered in decades" and asks if no-strings allowances could be the problem. The article makes several good points:

If you tie the allowance to chores, the child might decide "Fine - I’ll skip the chores and you can keep your money" or "I won’t do anything you ask unless you pay me" - neither of which are not exactly the attitude you want to send them into the working world with.And obviously, a no-string allowance alone teaches kids to expect money to make its way to them on its own.

The solution - and I can vouch for this from personal experience - is to give the kids a no-strings allowance and require them to do certain things. Don’t tie these expectations together so kids can barter. If they start failing to do the things you require, come up with a separate punishment. Take away phone privileges, or socializing with friends. Or make them do something even less appealing than what you normally require to show them it can be worse

Another tip: from the time I was a small child, I knew ten percent of my allowance went into savings. By the time I was a teenager, saving money was habitual - I didn’t even think twice about dipping into my savings. I got my first savings account when I was maybe 11 or 12, and watching the bank give me money just for leaving money with them excited the hell out of me! I learned to love saving and appreciate not only what I needed to do for money, but what I could make money do for me if I exercised self-control and made educated choices.

Also, my parents never, ever bought me anything (except necessities) other than on my birthday or at Christmas. If I wanted something, I had to save my allowance for it. I had friends who would go to their parents and say, "Hey, can I have money for that CD?" and they’d get it, even though they had an allowance to boot. I couldn’t even make sense of that, and I’m glad I couldn’t because it doesn’t work that way in the real world.

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