When children reach a certain age, they like to have their own spending money. While they sometimes receive money for birthdays and other holidays, some parents pay their children for doing work around the home. While this benefits the child in an effort to have their own money, there are advantages and disadvantages of giving kids an allowance for chores.
Effects of allowance on attitude
Some people believe paying children for helping out around the house is redundant. While most children are assigned certain chores daily, weekly or even monthly, these chores should be done whether a child gets paid an allowance or not. Therefore, giving children their own spending money and calling it an allowance could possibly affect the way they perform chores. This could be a good or bad thing.
The child may think that if they do not feel like doing their chores, that they do not have to, and the consequences will be that they will not get an allowance. When a parent sets the record straight, a child may become rebellious and not perform the task the way he or she should. However, the circumstances could take a turn in the opposite direction, and a child may perform their chores even better than they did before, specifically because they are grateful for an allowance. It really depends on the child, and the way the meaning of an allowance is explained to them.
Educational opportunity
When a child receives an allowance, it gives parents an opportunity to teach financial responsibility such as how to manage money. In an effort to teach them to save money, allowance may help parents establish rules such as saving half of the money they receive and allowing them to spend the other half. On the other hand, if a child wants an expensive item such as a new video game or even a pair of shoes that are popular but very expensive, by having their own money, they can learn how to save for these specific items. At any rate, giving a child an allowance will permit a learning opportunity that should benefit the child in the future.
The problem of cash advances
A potential disadvantage of giving kids an allowance for chores is despite the fact that they have their own money, there may come a time while you are out together and they see something they have been saving for, but do not quite have enough saved yet. Seeing that the item may be on sale and be a deal too good to pass up, they may ask for a loan or an advance on their allowance. Overall, while the deal may be a good one, and you advance them the difference, it may never even out. There are many outings that often come up with children, such as being invited to the movies with friends, or going out to eat with a friend’s family. These activities can put parents in a predicament to give children money for things while knowing that they actually owe you for an advance.
There are many pros and cons of giving kids an allowance for chores. However, the best reason to do so is to teach them the importance of being conscience of the way they spend. Let them go grocery shopping with you to see how much it costs for a family to eat. Let them buy their own school supplies and clothes, and then, perhaps they will understand the importance of saving, spending wisely and being better prepared for the future and their adult life.