This has been interesting, as I have an almost-2 year old, and will be faced with this decision in the next few years.
As of right now, I don't think I would give my son an allowance for doing chores or being a good household citizen, as these would be expected of him already, and I want him to know that he doesn't get paid for simply meeting minimum requirements of living with others. I've thought that I would let him earn a paycheck/allowance by doing extra chores not typically expected, up to a certain dollar amount. Not sure what age this will occur.
I would also like to set up the system of "thirds" as Diane pointed out, but in a different way (although, I hadn't thought of the "tax" idea yet...brilliant!). I had thought: 1/3 savings, 1/3 spend and 1/3 charity would be a good way for him to learn about helping others; and when he is older, he can choose to use that "1/3 for charity" with either volunteering his time or giving his money. I don't want to set up us for failure, though, as my husband and I do not give 1/3 of every paycheck to charity (although that is the ultimate goal), and would not want to expect something of our son that we can not do ourselves. (The "role model" thing gets in the way of raising kids sometimes, ha ha).
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This has been interesting, as I have an almost-2 year old, and will be faced with this decision in the next few years.
As of right now, I don't think I would give my son an allowance for doing chores or being a good household citizen, as these would be expected of him already, and I want him to know that he doesn't get paid for simply meeting minimum requirements of living with others. I've thought that I would let him earn a paycheck/allowance by doing extra chores not typically expected, up to a certain dollar amount. Not sure what age this will occur.
I would also like to set up the system of "thirds" as Diane pointed out, but in a different way (although, I hadn't thought of the "tax" idea yet...brilliant!). I had thought: 1/3 savings, 1/3 spend and 1/3 charity would be a good way for him to learn about helping others; and when he is older, he can choose to use that "1/3 for charity" with either volunteering his time or giving his money. I don't want to set up us for failure, though, as my husband and I do not give 1/3 of every paycheck to charity (although that is the ultimate goal), and would not want to expect something of our son that we can not do ourselves. (The "role model" thing gets in the way of raising kids sometimes, ha ha).
October 23, 2008 - 12:51pmThis Comment
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