My wife and I have talked on-and-off for years about whether to institute an “allowance” policy for our children. At present, we still do not have them…
With this in mind I downloaded a few of National Public Radio (NPR) “Planet Money” podcasts, including “Allowance Economics: Candy, Taxes, and Potty Training” from September 3, 2010. The interview features Australian economist, Joshua Gans, who as a father of three young children has been toying for years with his own system of incentives in his household.
I listened intently while on the treadmill this morning. I am curious to hear from other parents about their allowance policies.
2 comments:
We started giving the kids allowance this past year. However, they have certain tasks to complete over the course of the week or they will loose part or all of the money. (I think it is bad when kids think of it as entitlement.) Now when we go out and the kids want something extra I remind them that they will need to pay for it with their allowance and that they need to save their own money. It has worked out well, they also are starting to value money and how to use it.
We do roughly the same thing Scott. My wife started letting the kids put an "X" on a sheet when they would do a task. These "x's" were each worth a quarter, and after so many they could cash them in. We were amazed at how motivated the kids were! And, they love buying things with "their own money." :)I'm a pragmatist when it comes to parenting and child rearing!
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