childhood allowance

[SHATOUSHKA]

no, i'm not talking about being 'allowed'
to do something. i wanna know if you were
given an allowance as a kid. meaning,
did you receive something of a monetary
value for a service/behavior? despite your
own childhood, do you think that receiving
an allowance is a good motivator? (think of
that last Q in terms of kids. you can even
compare it to your job)

i never received an allowance as a kid.
it was my parents contention that they
should not have to pay for something i
should be doing anyway...

this was always quite depressing... not
the fact that i didn't receive money...
but that the list of things i was 'supposed
to do anyway' seemed insurmountable and
consistant.

[GravyTrain]

I don't remember if i received an allowance, usually, if i needed money, they would give it to me...assuming it was something worth while...and if i ever really wanted something, i could just ask my grandmother....when she died....i didn't have the same libety, but only a year or two later, i had my first job (at age 15 might i add)...ever since then, i never needed money from my parents (well, occassionaly i did...)

[Ivana]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#000000"><font size=2 face="Tempus Sans ITC, Tahoma">i never received an allowance as a kid.
it was my parents contention that they
should not have to pay for something i
should be doing anyway...</font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

Same here.... and I always thought that giving kids (not 5 year old though) a certain amount every week or month teaches them to handle money responsibly.

I also think that giving kids money for doing their chores is the wrong way to go...

[SHATOUSHKA]

ok... a slight tangent....

if giving kids money for chores is wrong (to a degree)
whats the difference in getting paid for your job?
granted, its not something you HAVE to do...
but you do have to work at something to live
(ie.. get paid etc).

so is giving money to kids for chores any
less delusional than getting paid to work?

*why do i feel like this thread is about to turn philosophical??* [img]eek.gif[/img]

[Ivana]

hm...interesting point

I was going to say that I think kids should be given some money regardless of their chores but then that would raise a question of how they'd learn to earn and value money so I don't know where I'm going with this


[img]confused.gif[/img]

[SHATOUSHKA]

lol... its ok. its one of the reasons i created
this topic. cuz i can't seem to put a handle on
it either... [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Ivana]

would you give your children an allowance and why?

[SHATOUSHKA]

i dunno! [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img]

thats why i have this thread! [img]graemlins/cry.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Ivana]

okay I *think* I would.

I would want my kids to do their chores but I wouldn't make the allowance dependant on the chores.

[soulfilms]

as a child, i never got an allowance. as in there was never a set amount of money that i was entitled to receive on a regular basis.

as a kid, i always had a bit of money with me (in case of emergencies, etc). but whenever i wanted something, i would tell my parents and they would buy it for me (it wasn't as simple as just giving them a list of requests, but basically, i would usually get whatever it was i wanted as long as it was within reason and if i wanted it for long enough).

even when i started working, at the tender (and minimum legal) age of 15, it still worked on the same principle, my wages would be directly deposited into my bank (my my employer) and i would still ask for what i wanted, which my parents bought and my work money would basically acrue.

these days, because i spend considerably more money than before for general day to day activities, i basically ask my parents for money when my cash on hand runs out. therefore trying to get as little cash out of the bank as possible.

i have analysed my parents' philosophy. they were really adamant about not giving allowances and i belive that was to have greater control over me. i would not be given the opportunity to 'save up for something' so that i would not be able to 'plan' for things. with their system, i had to ask for major purchases and they would know EXACTLY what i wanted and ultimately controlled what i had.

another thing that i notice that's different from others my age is their distinction between their parents' money and their money (like someone saying that she didn't care that she spends a fortune on the phone because it's her dad's phone and her dad pays for it - i've always found this somewhat bizarre and disturbing). this is probably another reason why my parents were against allowances. i've always grown up with the idea that my parents' money is my money just as mine is theirs and all of it is OURS (if my parents asked me for money, i wouldn't hesitate to give it to them) so the money we earn as a family sorta just gets all pooled together. so i guess for this (and other) reasons, we're a pretty tight knit family.

i never got paid for doing chores in exactly the same reason that shatzy and ivana didn't. they didn't think it was necessary to pay for something that was expected (although until i got my first job, i had no idea how to mop a floor and until about two years ago, i didn't know how to use the washing machine).

i don't think kids should be paid for chores as it gives the impression that the kid's existence is a clean slate and everything that's required of them to do (ie chores) is something added on and deserves some form of compensation for it (usually in terms of money). this then obliges the parent to pay the kid everytime it does something and the kid'll probably think that they've no responsibility towards themselves, their parents, the upkeeping of their house, which i think is wrong. as well as seeming to reward the kid for doing something that is quite banal and undeserving of reward.

giving allowances, i'm not sure about. yes i believe it does teach kids the value of money and good money skills but i also think that it separates in the kids' minds their money from their parents' money. of course this'll occur at some stage of their development but i don't think it's a healthy state of mind for kids to be in.


so um. yeah.

sorry it's been long.