Should Kids Be Paid Pocket Money For Helping Out Around The House?

Let me begin this post by saying my 10 year olds both have more cash in their money boxes than I ever did at their age. In fact they have managed to save enough to fund their Lego addiction- which is slowly and surely taking over the house.

The money they’ve saved has come from birthday presents, the tooth fairy and from lemonade stalls they have set up over the years. They haven’t yet received ‘pocket money’ from us and they most definitely don’t get paid to do their chores or help around the house.

I firmly believe that children should not be paid or rewarded with money by their parents for helping out around the house. I don’t think that receiving money should be linked to whether or not our children do their chores.

Lots of parenting blogs will suggest it’s a good idea to have children start helping in the family from a young age. Asking children to do a small number of age-appropriate tasks gives them a sense of responsibility and contribution and also builds their independence. However some families will pay their children for these jobs. But I think it’s a mistake to connect payment of money to helping out in a family.

We expect our boys to contribute in small ways to making our household work without expecting a financial reward. We’d hate for our kids to start negotiating “How much will you give me for it?” when asked to do a chore. I don’t want to have to bargain or negotiate the payment terms of a job with them.

My husband (who I’ll admit is the financial brains behind the family) has come up with a great way to ensure the kids understand that they must only spend what they can afford. Our boys are free to buy whatever they want (within reason) with their money, as long as they have the same amount to give to us to save for them. For example on the weekend they bought themselves a Lego set which cost $40 but they had to also give another $40 to us to put in their savings account. This way they start to budget and save up not just for the item they want but enough to put way in their savings account also.

As they get older we will look at giving them a small amount each week to encourage saving but this amount will not be linked to any jobs they do around the house -ie. make their beds, set the table or get mum a wine. This is expected and will not be financially rewarded.

How do you handle pocket money with your kids? If you’re after some great tips and advice  on how to encourage your children to be smart with their money, check out some great info right here!