A Parenting Coach Says You Should Never Pay Kids For Doing Chores

Lots of us give our kids money for cleaning up and doing tasks around the house, but one parenting expert says that’s a bad idea. Parenting coach and mom of two Lisa Bunnage says moms and dads should stop giving kids an allowance for doing chores, explaining that keeping those two things separate “helps them understand and respect money.”

While she believes all children deserve an allowance to learn how to manage and spend money responsibly, she says you should never pay them to clean up after themselves. “You don’t want to give allowance for doing chores, because you want them to understand that chores are just something you should do just because you’ve got to contribute to the household,” Bunnage explains.

She started teaching her own kids about the importance of managing money when they were as young as three, using something she called “mom’s bank.” Here’s how it works:

  • Bunnage would give her kids a weekly allowance that was the same amount as their age, so a six year old gets six bucks.
  • She never gave them cash, it “all goes in mom’s bank.”
  • When they had banked $100, she’d give them $10 in interest. At $900, they got $90 and she gave them $100 when they reached $1,000, but only $10 for each $100 after that.
  • Her kids had to check with her before buying something, so they couldn’t just take out $100 to buy candy.
  • When they came to her wanting to make a purchase, she’d break down the cost of the item by showing them how long it would take to earn the interest back.
  • And she says usually, they’d decide they didn’t need or want the item that badly.
  • The mom bank helped teach them conscious spending instead of just having cash and blowing it all.

Source: Daily Mail


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