Let's Talk About Kids & Chores & Pocket Money | Life Love and Hiccups: Let's Talk About Kids & Chores & Pocket Money
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Thursday 12 March 2015

Let's Talk About Kids & Chores & Pocket Money

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Can we just take a few minutes to talk about pocket money because you guys - I think I am BEING FLEECED big time!

I always smugly thought we had it all figured out when it came to pocket money and my kids. We had a system and that system worked OK for us... kinda... sorta.. yeah but not really anymore.

From the age of five if our boys did their jobs, then they received a dollar for every year of age they were.

If you are five then you get five bucks and so it goes.

Their jobs include things like feeding the animals, picking up dog poop, emptying the dishwasher and you know - just normal kind of jobby sort of stuff.

The thing is, as they get older the hands keep appearing in front of my face asking for more and at the same time it seems to be harder to get them to do any of their original jobs without a whole lot of nagging from us oldies let alone getting them to do extra jobs for extra pocket money.

Then there is the simple fact that I am actually grappling with the difference between jobs they should do to earn their pocket money and jobs they should do just because they are part of this family and everyone needs to chip in.

Know what I mean?

Simply put - there are some jobs that I just don't think a kid should get paid to do.

Like for example - feeding the animals.

I'm of the opinion that having a pet is both a privilege and with that privilege comes some responsibility. Heck we don't get paid for putting a plate of food in front of our kids so why should they get any dosh for feeding the animals?

Now I am not talking about feeding a 1000 strong herd of cattle here folks, nope just a couple of suburban hounds and a very loud lorikeet.

When my oldest started high school, he suddenly wanted to go to the movies or to the shops or the beach or skating with friends on the weekends.

"Ok sure, you can go" we said "you are responsible enough now".

"But I need some money please" came the response.

So apart from money for the movies and popcorn or lunch, he also needs money for the bus and well let's face it - $13 bucks (a dollar for every year) just doesn't go very far does it?

So we stretched it to $20 bucks a week for the teenager which after quizzing his friend's parents, seemed to be the going rate for a kid going on 14.

He gets this money once a week and has to budget it out for entertainment and travel or save it up if he wants to buy himself something.

I believe $20 bucks is pretty darn generous considering we pay for his mobile phone bill - but now we think it's all out of balance and we aren't getting our return on investment for that $20.

And so once again the whole chore / pocket money negotiations are back on the table and here's where I need your help please;

My kids do not believe me when I tell them about the jobs that other kids do regularly and don't actually get paid for. They also snort at me when I tell them that some kids don't get pocket money at all full stop.

I know I know, we made this bed and all that... Hindsight huh?

I'd love to know what you guys do in your house. Do you hand out pocket money and if so what do they need to do to earn it?

Once we have figured out the new economy of scale, the next thing to do is get some kind of system in place to keep track of who has done their jobs and who gets what.

So with that in mind I have scoured the internet for some chore chart / pocket money charts and systems from other clever families who have walked this rocky path before us.

If any of the ideas below look like something that would work for you guys then I encourage you to pop on over and read the full posts from these fabulous bloggers as there really are some awesome systems these guys are using.

So please, tell me;

Do you give out pocket money?
How does your system work?
What jobs do your kids have to do to earn their money?
Do you get fleeced by your squids?

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