Monday Teeny Poll

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About Glinda: Playing against type, Glinda lives in the West with her husband, eight year old son and year old daughter. She is in a constant state of worry that her wand is going to break at any moment.
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I vote for my system, help around the house because they should and what allowance they do earn is microscopic, just to give them a reason to save up for things they really want to buy themselves.
I’m not sure I believe in paying allowance for doing certain chores because I think they kids need to learn the concept of helping out as part of a family unit. At the same time, I think kids need to learn to manage money, and giving them a weekly allowance helps with that. Also, I’m all for letting them earn extra money by paying them to do extra tasks they would not normally be responsible for.
I have tried the whole allowance tied to household chores thing and it just never worked for us. My girls would just refuse to do anything and be happy with no financial gain.
So our system is, everyone has to do stuff around the house. It is not tied to money. You are part of this family, I am not your slave and you will do what is required or computer/internet/ipod/phone usage is cut (my girls are 14 & 16)
Then we all get Mad Money. Everyone gets it on my pay day. Regardless of chores done or not.
I’m with dgm and Sonia. They do need to help out, and they need to do it because it’s fair. I don’t get paid to make the bed, why should she? However, she does need to learn about money, and putting a bit of it in her hands has the added bonus of stopping the begging. She’s much more careful about what she buys when it’s her own money, and she can save up for something if she really wants it and it costs more than she has.
Chores are done because you’re part of the family, and kids get allowance because they need to learn about money. I didn’t start receiving an allowance until I was about 12. Before that I was given incidental sums.
I did sort of “earn” my allowance–besides normal practicing for my piano and voice lessons, I was supposed to give a small performance for them after dinner at least once a week to show off what I had learned. My allowance went into a tip jar on the piano, and the amount was always the same no matter how well I played–$5 a week. It was enough to buy a paperback novel or a CD and a Haagen-Dazs bar at the end of the month.
I voted with the majority. The kids learn an important lesson – that most economic activity on this planet is government-subsidized, anyway.