Allowance for a chore - 11yr old

justforfun87

Tue, May 23 2023, 1:18 pm

I am way too busy with life to fold laundry. My 11yr old son has taken to being the family laundry folder and I pay him $10/ week. There is appx 4 buckets or so. I wish my kids would do this voluntarily but they do not. He told me he has saved up $70 so far and now I am wondering if I am overpaying him. Thoughts

giftedmom

Tue, May 23 2023, 1:39 pm

Four buckets is a lot! You’d be paying triple that amount for cleaning help. I admire his tenacity.

justforfun87

Tue, May 23 2023, 1:45 pm

giftedmom wrote:

Four buckets is a lot! You’d be paying triple that amount for cleaning help. I admire his tenacity.

O yes, certainly I would be paying quadruple the amount as I have paid women in the past to fold. I am just wondering if paying that much to a kid means he will want more and more as he gets older or if 10 dollars is a fair amount for the job.

giftedmom

Tue, May 23 2023, 1:48 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

Since it’s below minimum wage for the job done I think it’s fair. If he wants more when he’s older that’ll just motivate him to work harder! It’ll take him far in life.

BrisketBoss

Tue, May 23 2023, 1:53 pm

justforfun87 wrote:

I guess you'll find out as he gets older.

Just to be a pedant, I want to point out that this is not an allowance. This is payment for a job. An allowance is money that is 'allowed' to someone on a regular basis to cover expenses. It is not earned through work.

justforfun87

Tue, May 23 2023, 1:55 pm

BrisketBoss wrote:

Good point. We are not strong at implementing chores unfortunately.

mikayla18

Tue, May 23 2023, 2:15 pm

Dave ramsey calls it "commission" when he pays his kids to do chores. If you were fine paying him 10 per week, why would it be too much? (Send him to me, I'd pay him $12 Wink

if the agreement is mutually beneficial why would it be a problem?