How do you feel about giving kids allowances?

[Phoenix84]

"I don't agree with the SAH spouse concept to begin with. I wonder if there are any SAH spouses who don't think they should give allowances."

What really gets me is some single income famlies have the SAHS give the working spouse an allowance. I don't want a SAHS to begin with, but if I had one I wouldn't let them dictate to me how much I could spend. Agreeing on a mutual budget sure but I'm not going to let a dependant tell me what I can and can't spend.

[Deleted]

You'd hate my household. My friends were blown away when I handed DH some cash the other day because I was sure he was out.

[Deleted]

Jun 6, 2011 13:47:15 GMT -5 Lady Gaga Gaga Snerd said:

However, i am not interested in having my kids buy their own clothes and stuff they need. I just don't want to do that. What i will do is say "you have $200 for some new school clothes" and give them the money and let them pick what they want. One kid might be a better shopper than the other, that's life.

CRAP!!! I am NOT reading another word you type! NOT another word I tell you!

{Angel does NOT agree with Snerd....Angel does NOT agree with Snerd}

[bring in the new year]

Pheonix,

Why do you consider the SAHS to be a dependent? Don't you think of them first as a partner?

[Deleted]

Why do you consider the SAHS to be a dependent? Don't you think of them first as a partner?

Nope - he thinks they are leaches who have fooled their male partners into supporting them.

[Phoenix84]

"Why do you consider the SAHS to be a dependent? Don't you think of them first as a partner?"

Because they are a dependent. Anyone, be it child, adult, senior, male, female who depends upon another to pay the bills and eat is a dependent. I simply call a spade a spade. What's your definition of a dependant?

Here's the dictionary definition of dependant.

"a person who depends on another person, organization, etc, for support, aid, or sustenance, esp financial support"

dictionary.reference.com/browse/Dependant

"Nope - he thinks they are leaches who have fooled their male partners into supporting them."

Those aren't the words or spin I'd put on it, but this isn't the thread for that type of jousting.

[Deleted]

Jun 6, 2011 17:05:18 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

"I don't agree with the SAH spouse concept to begin with. I wonder if there are any SAH spouses who don't think they should give allowances."

What really gets me is some single income famlies have the SAHS give the working spouse an allowance. I don't want a SAHS to begin with, but if I had one I wouldn't let them dictate to me how much I could spend. Agreeing on a mutual budget sure but I'm not going to let a dependant tell me what I can and can't spend.

So? The SAHS is probably the one handling the bills and the budget.

My husband and I BOTH work and we BOTH get an allowance. It's part of our budget. The first of the month, we each get $100 blow money and the 8 year old gets $20. When DH was unemployed last winter he still got his $100. I didn't dictate what he could spend it on, I could care less, but that's all we each get to spend outside of the budget.

[rmtvbrooks]

My kids each have certain chores that they are just expected to do; for example, folding their own laundry, clearing their own dishes from the table, making their own beds and keeping their rooms clean. Other chores, such as cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, etc., they can earn a little money for. I want them to know there are some things you just have to do because you're old enough to do it for yourself. But, earning some money for chores helps them to realize that if they want money, they will have to work for it. I buy their necessities (shampoo, deodorant, toothbrush, clothes, shoes, etc.). However, if DD wants nail polish or extra clothes that aren't NEEDED, it's up to her to buy them. DS has expensive tastes; he wants Wii games! He doesn't like to work, though, so he doesn't get to buy any. He does the required stuff only with a lot of sighing and eye-rolling. It hasn't clicked with him yet that if he wants money for Wii games, he will have to earn it.

[Deleted]

Geez, I guess I'm older than everyone here because when we were kids we got an allowance of change (can't remember how much). When I was about 10 my dad paid me to bake bread, which I loved to do anyway. I got something like 50 cents a loaf.

[Formerly SK]

Jun 7, 2011 9:30:48 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

"Why do you consider the SAHS to be a dependent? Don't you think of them first as a partner?"

Because they are a dependent. Anyone, be it child, adult, senior, male, female who depends upon another to pay the bills and eat is a dependent. I simply call a spade a spade. What's your definition of a dependant?

Here's the dictionary definition of dependant.

"a person who depends on another person, organization, etc, for support, aid, or sustenance, esp financial support"

dictionary.reference.com/browse/Dependant

"Nope - he thinks they are leaches who have fooled their male partners into supporting them."

Those aren't the words or spin I'd put on it, but this isn't the thread for that type of jousting.

I've known men in their 60s who couldn't make themselves a meal if their lives depended on it....they got married at 18 and their wives did it for 50 years. I guess those men are dependent, too.

[steph08]

My brother and I never received allowances as kids. Our jobs were to be kids, to be good students, and enjoy it while we could. It worked out pretty well for us. We didn't have jobs in high school, though I did start babysitting at 14. That was my fun money and what I used for gas money, movies, shopping trips with friends, etc. when I was old enough to drive and go places. We both got multiple jobs while in college.

Our parents bought us what we needed - clothes, food, etc. and any toys (video games, etc.) were given on birthdays. They also paid for our college educations.

It worked out pretty well for us. I am more thrifty than my brother, but he spent five more years in school (getting his doctorate) at a low stipend so he does have some debt. But he is quickly paying that off.

[family legacy]

My kid is expected to help out around the house all the time...clear he own dishes from table, move her shoes from the middle of the floor in the mudroom, put away her own clean laundry, putting her dirty laundry in the laundry basket, etc. She doesn't get a dime for any of these chores or whatever else we ask her to do, and she doesn't ask for money for them either.

That said, she has a daily required chore of cleaning her toys/belongings from around the house and into her bedroom every evening before bed (she has a tendency to bring things out to living room and play there). For that, she gets $1/day. Her room can be as messy as she likes, but if she choses to clean her room (which she does maybe once/twice a month) that's another $1. If the house is not messy (i.e., we were gone all day), then no chore/no money. We've been doing this since she was 3 years old and it makes trips to the store very painless..."Do you have enough money?" She is selective in her purchases.

She gets plenty of things for free throughout the year without having to "earn" them (holidays, birthdays, parades/community events, whatever), so she's hardly deprived. After seeing the benefit of her learning that money is only associated with work, I could never rationalize giving an allowance.

[973beachbum]

I have done the allowance thing.

They do still have things like mowing the lawn or scooping the poop from the lawn, but they don't get paid for that. I have always considered it just part of what we all have to do to live in our home.

The allowance is their blow money as well. they have all the food, clothes etc that they need. I also buy that as I know they would come home with one pair of jeans for $200 and nothing else.

The allowance went up as they got older from $2 in kindergarten and up to $5 in middle school. By middle school my DD was already able to get small mow the lawn type work for extra things the 5 bucks didn't pay for so I felt no need to raise it.

Now that DD is in HS she can get a real job in the summer and no longer gets an allowance. She also still has a couple of small mow the lawn for 20 bucks that she does starting in the spring through fall. That is more than enough money for anything she needs that isn't already provided for. She has too much to do during the school year to be working very much and still keep her grades up and participate in band etc but she also doesn't need to be sitting home the entire summer either. JMO