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Family values: Should older children earn their pocket money?
Results so far:
| Yes | 86% | 963 votes | Total: 1125 votes | |
| No | 14% | 162 votes |
Yes
by Lisa Mazurek
Created on: March 25, 2009 Last Updated: August 02, 2011
Yes, I believe older children should start earning pocket money. Earning money can give you confidence and build self esteem. It is a great way to teach a teenager the value of a dollar. It teaches them responsibility and how hard parents have to work.
I'm sorry but money doesn't grow on trees and as long as it doesn't interfere with school or other school activities than why not? Children need to learn responsibility at an early age because it will be so much easier when they become adults. It doesn't matter if the family is lower, middle, or upper class. Every older child needs to learn that working is the way to make money. I admit my kids are the same way. I try to explain to them the value of a dollar but it goes in one ear and out the other. Yes, I want to give them everything, but what is that teaching them?
Our children want things like video games, designer clothes and $100.00 sneakers. Well, I believe that certain items they could purchase themselves. They will appreciate and care for those items more too. Believe me your kids will thank you later.
My boys know that education is first and I want them to do their best in school. They know that a high school diploma will not get them a good paying job. Right now there are hundreds of people with degrees that can't find work. Now, think about the people with no degree. Working a part-time job delivering newspapers or babysitting can at least show them what it is like to earn their own money.
I'm sure we all did our fair share of working for the things we want. You don't need to be an adult to work. There is plenty of jobs out there for kids like raking leaves, cutting grass, babysitting, working at Six flags or tutoring other kids. Let them see what it is like to work and get a paycheck. It will prepare them for their future.
Many children think they don't need an education but after working for peanuts and seeing that peanuts don't go very far, It may give them a new perspective on education. A perfect example is my oldest son, he says I don't need school. He also said he will work at Six flags and that will be enough for him to live on. I told him working at Six flags would be a great summer job but do you want to make it a career. Will it be enough to pay your rent, utilities or buy the designer clothes. What about a car and gas, maintenance and insurance for that car. You need to eat. All this takes money. Well, he is 17 years old and hasn't started working. However, he is looking.
My other son is now 15 and he wants to work but he is too young. Believe it or not my youngest son actually motivated my older son into raking leaves and shoveling snow to earn extra money. It also makes them a little more independent because they don't need to ask mom or dad for ten dollars. Now if I could only get them to do work around the house. My boys are young and just like their friends they play video games, football and all the other things boys do. But I still feel that it is important to prepare them for their future. Starting early is the best way for them to begin learning about responsibility and the need for an education. You never know working may just give them ideas on what type of a career they want.
Working can teach them how to save money and spend it wisely. Children need to feel the accomplishment of a job well done. Let them be proud of themselves. It builds character. It certainly won't hurt.
Learn more about this author, Lisa Mazurek.
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No
by Adele Gregory
Created on: January 15, 2010
The greatest value in giving children pocket money is that it teaches them how to manage money itself and the skills of saving and budgeting. The trouble with asking them to earn their allowance is that financial lessons get mixed up with other issues, and other responsibilities become linked to money.
One is the biggest problems with having children earn their pocket money is what happens if they don’t, especially if this occurs on a regular basis. If you stay true to the principle of earning, the pocket money will stop in hopes that going without will teach them to be reliable workers. But how long will they be content to go without? Over time, resourceful children could well find other, less responsible ways of meeting their needs. They might borrow from friends, turn the pester power on other family members or even steal. These are not skills you want them to learn.
Encouraging children to work for pocket money also has its downsides because whatever you ask them to do for it becomes linked with financial remuneration. Ideally, they should be helping around the house because they’re part of the family and studying hard to do well at school, not because you’re paying them to. What parents ask their children to do to earn their pocket money are often things children should be doing anyway -and for free.
The link between chores or grades and regular pocket money can also be problematic in that technically, children should be able to say “no” to the work if they’re willing to forfeit the money. If Johnny’s not too bothered about losing the money he gets for cutting the lawn you’re left with an uncut lawn. You then have to apply other disciplinary procedures which might get the lawn cut, but the earning system has broken down. Similarly, earned pocket money shouldn’t really be removed for disciplinary reasons if the child has already fulfilled what he or she needed to do to earn it. In the adult world, that would be a breech of contract.
Many of these pitfalls can be avoided if regular pocket money is treated as an allowance for personal expenses rather than a payment for services rendered. It’s a less complicated system for children to learn and parents to implement. There won’t be so much starting and stopping (which parents have to track) or decisions about what to do if some things aren’t completed or done to standard. But more important is that it shifts the focus from reward to independence. Its message is “I’m giving you a certain amount of money each week in lieu of buying things for you on demand. You must pay for them yourself now so think carefully about how you spend it.”
Both earned pocket money and the allowance model teach children responsibility, but different types. Earned pocket money stresses the value of work and that you can’t get something for nothing. An unearned allowance gives children a certain amount to work with and in doing so it teaches them that resources are limited and they will have to use what they’ve got wisely. In financial terms, you could say that earned pocket money is about income while allowance is about expenditure. In regard to life lessons, however, earning is a fairly easy skill to pick up later on, but budgeting needs all the help it can get.
Learn more about this author, Adele Gregory.
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