Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I got an allowance, but was also expected to help around the house. Depending on age this included, making my bed/keeping my room clean, helping with dinner, etc.
If I wanted something specific, my parents would make a list, and each item was worth so much money (this was different from the other things I did).
It taught me that things we want (not need) are worth a little more work.
Great feeling when I had enough money that I earned and could go out and buy said item.
My daughter gets a five dollar allowance a week for : being kind, helping around the house, doing her homework, bathing and taking care of herself, and being respectful.
We pick different things every once in awhile to reinforce things she needs to work on. She is expected to put away her laundry, keeping her room clean, helping cook sometimes, helping clean other areas of the home occasionally.
She's 9 and very well behaved. We are very very lucky.
Right now she is struggling with keeping her nails clean and trimmed and washing her hair. If that's our only complaint, I think we are doing pretty good.
I am stunned I was born in 48 it was a different world then
All my grown nephews are unemployable boy men
My kid brother and I were really poor and suffered a lot
We were
Both working at 16
I guess he didn't want them to suffer
And wanted them to have a great childhood ----- @ 30+???
As I stated, my experience as a teacher has not been that all or even most kids can work, excel academically, and participate in extra-curriculars. I know my current USNA appointee, his parents think he can manage it all by just "working a little harder", meanwhile I have seen this big, tough, popular kid crying from being overwhelmed. If I were his parents I would not only remove the job but also one of his extra-curriculars. The good it would do (besides easing his stress) is that he would be able to get 4 years of a world class education for free, and get his ultimate dream career.
For mine, not working allowed my sister to take additional art classes outside of school, practice her art, and eventually get a free ride to a top art school. To be fair, isn't winning scholarship contributing?
Yes, we considered scholarships contributing. Our boys received them. They also held part-time jobs.
I think grade school is a good time to start the chores habit. Preschoolers can do extremely basic chores, but don't expect them to sweep floors or wash dishes and do a good job. I think 8-9 and up is a GREAT age to do just about any chores (except maybe mowing the lawn). The important part is to get them into the habit. My kids have their own individual chores (cleaning up your room, taking care of your lunchbox after school, putting away your shoes and coat, etc) and then family chores (washing dishes, sweeping, taking out the trash, etc) which we switch up. They also get a longer list on Saturday, which is when we do our big weekly clean. Ideally chores should take no more than 15 min on school nights, and 1 hour on weekends. I think that's plenty.
As far as teens and working, I do think all teens should start to work at some point. If nothing else it teaches them how hard a person has to work to earn the money that pays for all things they want. Unfortunately in today's crappy economy, it can be hard to find jobs. My daughter is 17 and has applied for at least 30 jobs, and hasn't gotten a single job interview. It's a tough market out there.
How many kids get scholarships out of their extracurriculars?
Your anecdotes doesn't count for any more than Mattie's do.
Lots and lots and lots of kids. I'd venture to say pretty much all scholarships, outside of athletic ones, are based on being a well-rounded student - ie participating in clubs, having leadership positions, etc. Anecdotally, the scholarships my daughter received for being involved at school in service and leadership were worth far more than she ever could have made working at an ice cream shop.
In our house, having a job falls below grades and extracurriculars. If my kid was not involved in anything outside of school work, I would encourage a job. But I would not be too keen on my kid giving up sports, service, or clubs to work at McDonald's. And if the grades were low, forget about it.
I think summer jobs are very important and my kids have and will work during the summer, but I am not really on board with them working during the school year.
Regarding allowance, I am of the mindset that it should be used as a way to teach kids to budget properly. Barring any major issues, my kids get a certain amount of money each week. But it's not for chores, or really tied into doing anything around the house at all. In our house, you just do that stuff because you're a part of the family.
In my experience - I am 68 - nothing works except the milieu of the household. You spend your time talking on the cellphone, texting while driving, gossiping, following American Idol, not knowing who the Supreme Court Justices are, ignoring repair jobs around the house, not improving your vocabulary, idolizing musicians, memorizing sports statistics, spending more than you earn, never reading a book, cursing, smoking, tolerating others who smoke or curse, being negative, letting yourself get out of shape, eating poorly, being unkind to animals, being *****rdly, disparaging the actions of America, and probably a whole bunch of other things, then you are almost guaranteed to produce mediocre children who will then become mediocre adults.
And all this other chore/reward stuff just doesn't mean much.
Lots and lots and lots of kids. The vast majority of scholarships are based on being a well-rounded student - ie participating in clubs, having leadership positions, etc. Anecdotally, the scholarships my daughter received for being involved at school in service and leadership were worth far more than she ever could have made working at an ice cream shop.
In our house, having a job falls below grades and extracurriculars. If my kid was not involved in anything outside of school work, I would encourage a job. But I would not be too keen on my kid giving up sports, service, or clubs to work at McDonald's. And if the grades were low, forget about it.
I think summer jobs are very important and my kids have and will work during the summer, but I am not really on board with them working during the school year.
I wouldn't want my kids giving up those things either. The thing is, there are plenty if kids who do all of those things. Some posters seem to be implying that it must be either-or and that simply is not true.
I wouldn't want my kids giving up those things either. The thing is, there are plenty if kids who do all of those things. Some posters seem to be implying that it must be either-or and that simply is not true.
It's definitely not an either-or thing, but as a parent of high school/college kids, it kind of astounds me how much these kids have on their plates - full course loads of AP classes, varsity athletics, clubs, etc. that in a lot of cases, I just don't see what the point of them having a job would be. They're working plenty hard enough, no need to spread them so thin.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
