Allowances

Well growing up on a farm is a bit of a different story then growing up in a city. On a farm, you are EXPECTED to help out once you can walk to keep the farm up, feed the animals, milk the cows and so forth. When you grow up in a smaller house, with minimal land, the children are still expected to help out but there's not the treat that the house will be lost if we don't. So in that case, we used to always get an allowance to help out. We would get $10 a week to Vaccuum, dust, mop the kitchen floor and load and unload the dishwasher. We NEVER had to do the bathrooms, my mom did those. I look at it now and think to myself that $10 a week wasn't very much but my parents still gave us money for lunches, and bought our clothes. The only things we had to pay for was if we wanted to go do something with our friends like go to the movies, mini putt, bowling, or buy accessories or something. Once my daughter hits 10, I will be offering her an allowance as long as she helps out around the house and it will be on a points system. Depending on how many points she did that week, will depend on how much money she gets. One week she could make $20 but another only $5. I like the idea of an allowance because it gives kids the understanding of money. You have to work to get it and it goes really quickly. As well, if she want's a cell phone, I will buy her the phone but it will be pay as you go, and she will have to purchase her own minutes. I feel that kids need to learn the value of money and that it just doesn't grow on trees. They need to learn how to save and the concequences of buying something stupid and seeing all their money go. So yes, I guess I'm one that agrees with giving a child an allowance for educational purposes!