Should You Pay Your Kids Chores?
By Jana Angeles
Probably one of the most asked questions by parents is should I pay my kids when they do chores? It’s a tough one to answer but it’s also a matter of opinion. What do you believe is fair? Are they old enough to understand the concept of money and its value?
As you can see, there are a lot of factors to consider and you also have to be smart and savvy with your decision. There are pros and cons when it comes to paying your kids chores. If you’re sitting on the fence, these could help make your decision-making a lot easier on the matter.
Pros of Paying For Chores
They can save up and pay for their own wants.
When you’re working hard for the money, buying your kids’ wants can take a huge chunk out of your paycheck. Paying them for chores can be beneficial because you can spread your finances quite easily. You can even place all that hard earned cash from chores in their piggy bank, making it a rule that they’re not allowed to touch it unless they have fully saved up for the item they want.
You can teach them the importance of financial value early.
Around the age of eight to about ten years old is the perfect age to start paying for chores. Here, you can teach them the value of money and the importance of saving for something and finally buying it. Once your child starts reaching their goal savings, they’ll learn how incredibly rewarding it is to save and to not spend recklessly. You can also teach them what money is used for as they start growing older, teaching them things like loans, bills and more.
It’s an incentive for them to do chores quickly.
Of course tasks will get done when your child knows they’re getting paid for that work and effort! It’s a brilliant motivator to get their room to remain clean and tidy and also saves you time to spend on housework and more time to do things you rarely have time for (cheeky binge-watch on Netflix, perhaps?). Money is a great incentive and it will get them to work twice as hard to earn it.
Cons of Paying For Chores
They expect to be paid for every chore, even on tasks that are super easy to do.
You’ve started paying your child every time they do a chore but now they expect to be paid for everything, even if it means simply cleaning up a small mess around the house. As parents, you’ll find it difficult not to pay them, especially if you haven’t been specific on tasks that should be done free-of-charge. It’s hard to get them to understand this, especially if they have that expectation of getting money from you each time they help out with housework.
They have no idea how to manage their money.
Your child may take time to understand the value of money and they may want to spend it straightaway instead of saving it for a rainy day. You also might’ve been too lenient on what they should do with it too. It’s hard to get them out of the rhythm of spending especially if there weren’t any ground rules put down in the first place.
Become lazy in doing chores because of no money incentive.
There is no incentive to do housework for your children especially if they’re not getting paid for it. Taking away that privilege will eventually lead them into being slack when they are told they need to do specific tasks at hand.
There are plenty more pros and cons when it comes to the paying for chores but the decision is ultimately yours. You shouldn’t let this decision affect you as parent, especially if it’s something other people have a strong opinion towards. If you feel confident in your child and believe they can get paid for chores, do it. If you don’t and would rather wait until they’re old enough to work for money instead, that’s alright too. Your decision doesn’t define how good or bad of a parent you are. This is only one aspect of parenting you have to worry about, so whatever it is, make sure you stick with the decision and be open in communicating it with your child.