Thursday, November 15, 2012

Chores & Allowance

I've been toying with the idea of giving Lynden chores, but I kept going back and forth.  There were things he could do (like help unload the dishwasher, put away toys, etc) but did I really want to "force" him to do these things?  Could I make him do it?
 
Doesn't help when you see some nice chore charts on Pinterest.
 
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Then, at the beginning of the month, I found a pretty good deal on a Doug & Melissa Chore Chart and decided it was a sign and it was time for Lynden to have some responsibilities around the house. 

 
Thankfully the chore chart came with a lot of options, some of which were appropriate to Lynden's age. 
 
Every day he's to make his bed, clean up his room, put toys away (from the rest of the house), brush his teeth, share, get dressed, and help empty the dishwasher.  7 chores might seem like a lot but most of them are every day things that should be done anyways. 
 
It's more about getting him used to the idea that he's old enough to help around the house with some things. 
 
We told him if he did all those things, every day, at the end of the week we would give him a dollar.  His response? A very impressive "woooow". 
 
It's tough deciding to give your kids an "allowance", not that we're calling it that.  There's a huge debate on it; do you pay your children for things they are expected to do anyway?  Life's not like that so why teach them something that won't pay off later?  It's good to teach them responsibility and if they get a reward at the end than so be it. 
 
The way I see it, kids need a bit of encouragement, especially younger kids.  So paying them to do daily chores isn't a bad thing.  {This is my opinion; everyone does what's right for them.  There is no right or wrong}
 
As my kids get older we will probably give them a small base allowance (kids need spending money) with extra-not-every-day-tasks giving them bonus money. 
 
But, for the time being, Lynden likes checking to see what he needs to do each day and putting his "pennies" on the board (they're round magnets, but he calls them pennies), and he's thrilled to get his dollar each week. 
 
Do you have chores for your little ones?  Do you pay them?
 

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I am still looking for co-hosts for a link-up/blog hop that benefits your local food bank. You can read about it here. The last day to sign up will be Sunday Nov 18th.

10 comments:

  1. I love the idea of a chore chart! My husband and I are expecting our first baby in March, so I know we are far off from needing it, but I really think it's a great idea =)

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  2. We don't.. but it's not necessarily because I don't believe in it.. it's just that I haven't decided what to do yet so I'm doing nothing! I do expect them to help out when asked, but it's not an everyday, always the same thing, type of thing. And they love getting money but right now when they do it just goes in their piggy banks and they NEVER even want to spend it. I think as they get older and really want spending money we'll have to reevaluate, but for now we're ok.

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    1. That's how I was, I didn't know what to do so I didn't do anything.
      Lynden's money goes into his piggy bank but every now and again we'll let him take a few dollars and he can buy something (usually a car, which is $1)

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  3. Our kids help with chores all the time. We haven't done the paying for those chores, but I'm not against the idea. They do get paid for doing tasks that go beyond the norm for everyday living.

    I was looking for the link for the chore chart kit you bought, but didn't see it??

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    1. I don't know that I added a link - google Doug and Melissa chore chart and it should come up

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  4. my kids are way too lazy and mainly its my fault because i dont want the fight with them so i just do things myself, but i see how that will be bad for them as they become teenagers. yikes. i really need to start pushing chores and a chart! thanks for stopping by from the mixer. im following you back now! =)

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    1. Everyone does what's right for them. I grew up having to do all these chores and never got an allowance, which drove me nuts since I never had spending money. We all take the good and bad from our lives and tweak ;o)

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  5. I'm not a parent but I think it's a good thing to reward a kid for a job well done. Perhaps if you're not 100% convinced with the idea of giving him money, you can find other rewards such as having fiends over, etc.

    Pinterest is such a great source of inspiration! :p

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    1. It really is. My son loves putting money in his piggy bank and he was happy with $1 a week so it worked for us. But I do like the idea of different rewards - maybe when they get older

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