by Barbara Stanley

Created on: June 09, 2009   Last Updated: June 11, 2009

Children who are twelve and older should earn the money they use for activities they participate in with friends, special personal items they prefer over what is bought for the family, and for dates as they reach that age. Many people who are wealthy today have stated that they began as children, learning about earning and managing money. As a society in America, we have shifted from assigning chores and responsibilities to our children to allowing them too much freedom and too many high tech toys. As a result, children are gaining excess weight and growing up with a sense of entitlement. With our economy in the worst shape it has ever been in, we do our children a disservice by giving them everything they desire and requiring nothing in return.

Most people aged thirty-six and older can remember working around the house to earn extra money for a pair of expensive shoes, an outing with friends, or a church trip. This was a good experience, teaching the value of labor and allowing you to decide if the cost of something was worth the amount of time spent earning it. There are many chores that children should be required to do without expectation of a monetary reward. All people in a family should share the workload according to his/her age and ability. Irregular chores such as cleaning out a garage or attic would be great opportunities for children to earn pocket money.

If parents ask their older children to babysit younger children in the family, they should pay their own children the same rate they would have earned in the neighborhood, babysitting for the children of others. Washing the family car may be something that parents expect their older children to do without pay since they do benefit from the transportation it provides. However, detailing the family car is above and beyond, and parents should pay at least minimum wage per hour for a job well done. Older children should iron their own clothes, if needed, but should expect to be paid for ironing clothes for the entire family. Usually, a price per piece is agreed upon before the job begins and pay is received after a parent inspects the ironing.

Jobs outside the household are also good for children if the hours do not interfere with school work. Parents should make sure that their children are capable of doing the work, that their children are treated fairly, and that there is no harassment of any kind. These early jobs that young and older teens acquire will help them once they enter the workforce

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