Chores

What is your philosophy on chores? Should you pay an allowance or not?

This is something that we are currently trying to figure out with Lexi and implement into our family. I feel like Lexi has been quite spoiled for a long time without having to take responsibility for her things. She wants a lot of things and she gets a lot of things, but we are now to a point where we have created a monster and she needs to learn that she can't have everything that she asks for. She also needs to be given more responsibility and learn to work around the house.

I have never believed in allowances. I believe in working for your money and not just be given money and having kids expect that they get money. There are some things that need to be done not because you are being paid for it but because it is part of being a member of the family. I would have been pretty discouraged it all my life I had been paid to clean the house and then when I became a wife and a mom I was just expected to do it without getting paid. I would think I was robbed. I am thankful for my parents for teaching me the value of work. I am not the greatest housekeeper and my house is not OCD spotless, but it is clean and picked up and liveable.

So in our discussions this last week we have decided on this chore and money earning program. Lexi is expected to: clean her room, get dressed, brush her teeth, make her bed, feed her goldfish and do her homework without any sort of payment. She can earn money by doing the following items as many times during the week as she wants and she will earn a quarter for each task that she completes: cleaning the front room, babysitting the boys, cleaning the garbage out of the Explorer, cleaning up bathroom, unloading the dishwasher, helping with dinner, help the boys clean up their toys, vacuum in any room besides her bedroom, load dishwasher, switch laundry around, clean up after dinner, sweeping the floor, and help feed Thor. She will put a star by each task that she completes on her chart. Once she completes the task she cannot lose any money and she start learning how to save her money and pay tithing. She can also earn stars by her name for being nice and obeying and doing what she is told without any arguing or complaining. She can lose stars by arguing, complaining, fighting and disobeying. Once she earns a certain number of stars in a row then she will earn a reward like staying up late on Friday to watch T.V., being able to rent a video and hang out with Mom or Dad, sleep in the front room on the couch, eat her favorite meal that night or record a show on her DVR to watch another day and other things around the house that don't cost a lot of money.

I think this plan may work for us. She needs to understand the importance of working, saving her money and realizing that there are good things that happen when you do what you are told and do what is right.

What do you think?