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 full time. The job skills they learn will be invaluable. Children learn the responsibility of getting to work on time, calling in when they are unable to go to work, and completing a certain mount of work within a given time period. Children also learn what types of work they most enjoy and what types they least enjoy. Some children will find they are happiest working with their hands or working outdoors. Others will decide they most enjoy working in a social setting or in a quiet office. Young people also learn to open checking accounts, write checks, use debit cards, and budget their money.
Parents could just give their children an allowance and pay for all the extra things their children want, but hard times will come, either while the child is still at home or after he is on his own. Learning the value of doing a good job for pay and what it means to sacrifice in order to have what you want or need is never a wasted lesson. Things that children must work for are generally treated much better than things given to them. Life will be more difficult in the days to come. The better prepared a child is to face the future, the easier it will be for her to be creative in order to survive. Children have been working for centuries to earn a little pocket money. Working conditions have greatly improved and there is certainly no better time for children to learn responsibility.
After school and weekend jobs are harder to find with the unemployment rate nearing ten percent. If businesses are not hiring in your neighborhood, your children could offer services at a reasonable rate for friends, relatives, and neighbors. Some examples of services include: car washing and detailing, babysitting, running errands, house sitting, mowing lawns, pet sitting, tending a garden while the owners are away, and cleaning houses. Another way to earn pocket money is to pick blackberries, raspberries, mulberries, blueberries, and pick up pecans and other nuts to sell in the neighborhood, to friends and family, and even to some local grocery stores if there is enough volume.
As children work to earn their money, the are instilled with good work ethics, resilience, and creativity. The benefits include much more than just money. Working engages children in productive activities that keep them physically fit, increases their ability to learn quickly and easily, and helps grow a strong and proper sense of self-esteem.