Allowance.

To Give or Not To Give is, in and of itself, an issue that stirs debates rivaling those of the presidential variety (though possibly more entertaining). Turn the topic to how much to give, and you might want to state your opinion and promptly take cover.

Should parents financially reward kids for doing tasks they should be doing (like brushing their teeth and flushing the toilet)? At what age is it appropriate to start giving allowance? And how much do you start with?

I’ll admit it. We do give our kids a weekly allowance. And, in case you’re wondering, it’s not enough to allow them to head to the store to purchase the latest Webkinz or an iPhone. In our minds, more than compensating them for doing things they are expected to do as members of our family, it’s about teaching them to be responsible with money.

When one of them has $6 and spontaneously blows it–in a moment of Toys R Us insanity–on an item that was clearly quality compromised from the start and then not-so-surprisingly breaks later in the day, the purchaser learns he’ll have to save up again before he can buy some other gotta-have-this-now item.

When another child wants to buy the questionable item another kid chooses but can’t because he didn’t earn his allowance, he learns that perhaps doing the dinner dishes is worth ten minutes of his time.

And, when they ask me to buy them something, and I ask if they want it enough to buy it with their own money, or at least contribute significantly, we all learn how badly they really want it (read: not so much).

As for what happens when one kid refuses to do his chores but another steps in to pick up the slack, I learned a great trick from Have a New Kid by Friday by Kevin Leman. (As an aside, I spied this book on a display easel from across a crowded Barnes & Noble one day and bowled over other patrons, young and old alike, to get to it. If “Have a New Kid by Friday” isn’t a compelling offer, I don’t know what is, and I most definitely found it to be worth $17.99 of my allowance.)

Onto Dr. Leman’s suggestion. If one child chooses not to do his share, I “hire” another kid and pay him an appropriate portion of the uncooperative child’s allowance. This approach doesn’t at all cause World War 3, in case you were wondering. It is also the basis for why one of our twins has more money than I do, and the other can’t buy even a ring pop.

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How do you handle allowance (or not) in your house?

(photo by asterisco)