In the short time I’ve done this blog, the most widely read article by far is how my parents handled allowance. When I mentioned it to the friend that gave me the idea for the article, he suggested royalties are in order.
He can name his price as long as it’s based on a percentage of my site’s earnings. Zero times anything is zero.
Back to allowance. I came across a well-written article by Jennifer Allen at Scholastic that gave suggestions on how to handle allowance for different age groups. It has some good ideas.
When to Start
She suggests starting at age 5 or 6, but that it depends on your child’s maturity. Some kids might be able to handle it earlier and some later.
I nearly made the mistake of starting my 2-year-old daughter on allowance tonight. We were at her favorite restaurant Taco Bell. She wanted candy from a candy machine. She stuck her hand up as far as she could but couldn’t reach anything.
I briefly thought about giving her a quarter and telling her it would be the only one. It’s a rookie mistake I might have made a few months ago. I’m smarter now. There’s no way on God’s green earth she’d let it be the only quarter.
Yes, two years old is too early to start allowance.
Is it a Good Idea to Tie Allowance to Chores, Grades, Behavior?
The Scholastic article believes allowance should be a teaching tool rather than a disciplinary tool, and therefore recommends against tying allowance to chores, behavior, or grades. The author believes kids should do chores by virtue of being a member of the family and not because there is a reward.
At this point I don’t have a strong opinion either way. I can understand trying not to confuse kids by crosswiring a teaching tool with a disciplinary tool. On the other hand my allowance was tied to chores and behavior and I lived to tell about it.
How Much Allowance?
An expert cited in the article recommends a weekly allowance of 50 cents to a dollar for every year of age. A 10-year old would get $5 to $10 per week.
It’s a lot more than I received, but maybe it’s the right amount these days.
Somewhere in there is an opportunity to teach your kids some math. For example, double your child’s allowance if she can successfully use the Rule of 72 to figure out her allowance in 1984 dollars. No, don’t do that.
Other Suggestions
Another suggestion I found interesting:
“As your child grows, so should his responsibility for his own discretionary spending. Keep track of what you spend on him for a couple of weeks. Then, choose one or two nonessential items that you will cease paying for, such as after-school snacks, comic books, baseball cards, or iTunes downloads. ‘Explain that you’re no longer paying for those items, but instead will give her an allowance equal to the amount you’ve been spending.’ “
I think the idea has merit. It would get your child to think about budgeting and priorities.
By the way, do kids buy baseball cards these days? I hope so, it means I’m not too late to get some value out of the four boxes in the corner of my closet.
Bailouts
Finally, the article suggests that you not bail out your child if she gets buyer’s remorse or runs out of money. Seems right to me. If they have buyer’s remorse, you could help them return the item or sell it on Craigslist.
If allowance is meant to prepare them for real life, they should learn not to expect bailouts. Just don’t tell them about the Savings and Loan scandals, Bear Stearns, or the mortgage crisis. That would just give mixed messages.
Conclusion
It will be a few years before I have any experience with kids old enough for allowance. Until then I’m not planning to form strong opinions about how to handle allowance. But it’s one of those things that’s good to start thinking about before it sneaks up on you.