I actually only give my son (5yrs) a dollar a week. We encourage him to pay tithe, and we don't make him pay taxes at the store. He can read on the box or the sticker that says "3.99" and he knows that means 4 green papers, not 4 green papers and some coins. lol... He has to save his money if he wants a specific toy (right now he's saving for Handy Manny and the Green Team dvd), or he can spend it on jelly beans and things, but he doesn't get toys. Any treats he wants, he pays for from his allowance. And he does have chores to do. He empties the trash and puts laundry away. As well as keeping his room clean, and making his bed. But these are things he is expected to do... not paid to do. However, he is given the option of paying me to do them for a week. I'm trying to teach him the value of savings, and of work. If I want someone else to clean the house, then I have to pay them. So the same for him. And he knows that if he wants to save faster, then he can ask to be paid to do an extra chore. A quarter per chore: sweeping the living room and under furniture, mopping the bathroom floor by hand (so it gets in the corners), cleaning the woodwork etc. But it has to be a helpful chore (not something I was going to do anyway). We've only been doing this for about a year, and it works really well with him. He likes doing chores, and doesn't complain anymore about having to. After all... he can pay me to do them for a week!
I actually only give my son (5yrs) a dollar a week. We encourage him to pay tithe, and we don't make him pay taxes at the store. He can read on the box or the sticker that says "3.99" and he knows that means 4 green papers, not 4 green papers and some coins. lol... He has to save his money if he wants a specific toy (right now he's saving for Handy Manny and the Green Team dvd), or he can spend it on jelly beans and things, but he doesn't get toys. Any treats he wants, he pays for from his allowance. And he does have chores to do. He empties the trash and puts laundry away. As well as keeping his room clean, and making his bed. But these are things he is expected to do... not paid to do. However, he is given the option of paying me to do them for a week. I'm trying to teach him the value of savings, and of work. If I want someone else to clean the house, then I have to pay them. So the same for him. And he knows that if he wants to save faster, then he can ask to be paid to do an extra chore. A quarter per chore: sweeping the living room and under furniture, mopping the bathroom floor by hand (so it gets in the corners), cleaning the woodwork etc. But it has to be a helpful chore (not something I was going to do anyway). We've only been doing this for about a year, and it works really well with him. He likes doing chores, and doesn't complain anymore about having to. After all... he can pay me to do them for a week!