Chores & Allowances
YES! My kids do chores and get an allowance. Chores are not bad, being paid to work is not bad. Do the kids get paid for everything they do? No. Some things fall under just good old responsibilities - understanding that we all need to chip in, we all need to do our part in order for this routine and system to work. But then there are those bonus jobs, the things that normally I would do but they are now old enough to help with. And if you take something off my plate, I’m more than happy to compensate you for doing so. Just like someone who comes to mow the lawn would be paid, or to clean the house, my kids, too, get compensation for the things that make mom and dad’s jobs slightly easier.
You may not agree and that’s perfectly fine. We don’t need to agree. But I want to share with you the systems I have for chores and allowances around here, that teach my kids responsibility and that tell them, too, that their work is worth something. I don’t want them in their first big job just doing whatever the boss asks because the boss asked it of them. No, you work harder, you get paid more. They will know their worth and not do things for free just because someone from a position of authority asked it of them.
First off, what chores do your kids do? I’ve looked at a lot of different chore ideas for kids on pinterest and whatnot and I’ve consolidated them to match what we need done around here. I’ll share the links to our chore charts at the end. But the daily things are quite straightforward: you, house, animals, bonus.
Self:
Brush teeth a.m. and p.m.
Mouthwash
Floss
Wash face
Shower/Bath
Trim nails
Drink entire water bottle
Take Vitamins
Eat serving of vegetables
Wash feet p.m. (we’re outside barefoot, a lot!)
Now, they do not get compensated for the above, this is expected of them to build good habits, but it sure does feel good checking things off!
Animals:
Feed fish
Cat water
Feed dogs & cats
Help with chicken chores
Keep dog water full
My youngest wanted the fish, they are hers, so she doesn’t get paid for feeding them. My oldest wants the dang barn cats, so she doesn’t get paid for helping with them. The chickens are all me so they’ll get compensated when helping with the chickens.
House:
Tidy your room
Make bed
Tidy shoes in mudroom
Take laundry to laundry room
Fold your clothes (oldest only)
Put your laundry away
Set the table
Unload the dishwasher
Put groceries away
Help make dinner
Water house plants
Empty small trash cans throughout house
Clean up toys & items in yard/porch
Vacuum outside furniture
Restock toilet paper in restrooms & paper towels in kitchen
Wipe down car wheels
Empty car trash & dust interior
Wipe down kitchen trash can and the recycle bin
Your stuff, your responsibility. My stuff (mudroom, dinner, dishwasher), you’re helping me in my roles, I’ll compensate.
Self Development:
Daily schoolwork
Piano practice
Art & Drawing practice (oldest)
Sports practice (youngest)
Handwriting/cursive practice
Bonus Reading
Flashcards
Go to your extra curricular(s)
To me, in my opinion, this is their job. So they will be compensated for the extra practice in all of these fields, especially if that gives them the extra boost needed to accomplish these. This is also done on their time, schoolwork being the only one that I will schedule in.
These are the items on their chore lists, with boxes for everyday, though some may not be done everyday and that’s ok!
So you’re wondering: what abut the reward? The allowance?
I use “stars”. We have an ecalendar with it’s own star-giving part of the app which I LOVE and makes things easy and fun, but you don’t need the app to keep track. Each chore has a star value, most just one, but some of the big ones have 2 or more that get awarded. At the end of this, you’ll see the chores and the amount of stars that each get in our house. At the end of the week, we add them all up and award them to the kids. You could do this as tickets, just keep a written log, whatever works in your house!
Then the fun part: REWARDS! For chores, the rewards are as such:
75 stars = $2 on your Greenlight card OR 320 Minecoins
150 stars = $5 on your Greenlight card OR 400 Roblox
225 stars = $7 on your Greenlight card or 1000 Minecoins
The more stars you save up, the better your reward!
Have you heard of the Greenlight card? Another huge recommendation from me. www.greenlight.com to sign up! I’ll do a separate post on this and how amazing it is for parents and kids.
I hope this all helps with your home, your kids and give you some new ideas. I’d love to hear some of the things you implement in your home!
