How to Make an Allowance Chore Chart for Your Child
Parents want to teach their children how to manage money effectively by spending wisely, budgeting and saving. One way to educate children about money is by tying allowance to completing chores. Doing so teaches them the importance of working for money and might help them value their allowance more because they put effort into earning it. If you plan to make the allowance you give your child based on completion of chores, creating an allowance chore chart can help you -- and your child -- keep track of whether he is finishing the necessary chores to earn his allowance.
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Instructions
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Recognize when your child is ready for an allowance. By age 10, children typically begin encountering situations where they have to make decisions about money. However, an allowance might benefit children as young as 3 or 4 if they can count, distinguish different coins and have opportunities for spending.
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Decide which chores you want your child to complete each week to earn her allowance. Some chores you might want completed include taking out the trash, setting the table, dusting, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming or caring for a pet. Take into consideration your child's age, abilities and interest in assigning chores. Remember that you might want her to do some chores -- such as making her bed or cleaning her room -- with no monetary reward, and you might choose to allow her to do other chores to earn extra spending money.
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Determine an appropriate amount of allowance to pay your child. Base the allowance amount on his age, your income and what you want the allowance to cover. Some parents pay a certain amount, such as $.50 or $1, for each year of their child's age. Increase the amount you pay in allowance if you expect him to buy his own clothing, pay for his school lunches or save a specific amount of the money he receives. Ensure that your family can realistically afford whatever amount you decide to pay for allowance.
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Divide the amount of money you want to give your child in allowance each week by the number of chores you want completed. Decide whether to pay the same amount for each chore or pay more for the more difficult or time consuming chores.
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Create an allowance chore chart for your child. List the chores you want her to complete on the left side of a piece of paper and the days of the week across the top. If you don't want to make your own chore chart, print off a free chore chart from a site, such as Free Printable Behavior Charts.com.
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Have your child fill in the allowance chore chart when he completes his chores. Give younger children stickers to mark the chores they have finished. Older children might prefer to mark X's when they complete a chore or write down how much they have earned for each chore to help them add up how much they have earned so far.
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References
- Christian Personal Finance; Children and Allowance: Flat Rate or Chores-Based?; Craig Ford; February 2011
- KidsHealth; Allowance Basics; Steven Dowshen; August 2008
- University of Nevada Cooperative Extension; Should You Give Your Child an Allowance?; Patricia A. Behal, et al.
- Family Education: Assigning and Charting Chores
- Family Education: How Much Allowance to Give Your Child
Resources
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