Earn Your Keep!

Every summer, I scour the internet (mostly Pinterest!) for ideas on how to get the kids to be willing participants in doing chores. There are a million options to choose from....magnets, pictures, marbles, I've seen it all, and it overwhelms me.

 

There is also a huge debate out there about whether kids should even be able to "earn" an allowance, or rather, just participate in everyday household activities and not get any money. Each family is different, but I personally feel like it's okay to give kids an allowance. I got one as a kid, and loved the sense of responsibility it gave me. I learned that if I worked hard, I earned money as a result. And I liked that feeling, of knowing that hard work pays off. (On the other hand, there was my little sister who hated cleaning her room, so I'd do it for her and get her allowance. Win-win!)

 

Two summers ago, I attempted to implement a chore system for Nate with pictures, since he wasn't reading yet. (Click here to read that post.) It worked well for a few days, but then he would always forget to do the chores and I'd end up having to nag him every day if he wanted to earn money. Not the outcome I wanted.

 

Last summer was super busy with VBS and the beach and trips, so I kinda forgot to make the kids do chores! #mommyfail.

 

This year, Nate is reallllllllllllllllllllly "into" money, so I knew this would be the summer where it would finally work. I decided to scale it back and go simple. And I found the cutest printables on Pinterest; click here to download them.

 

 The kids and I came up with their chores together, and I tried to give them a lot of different options. They already do an amazing job each day picking up their rooms, the playroom, and the craft room, so I didn't want to list those things as "chores." Those are just something they have to do every day, period. (That's what happens when your mother is OCD.)

 

Once we came up with 2 lists, I wrote the chores on the chart with a sharpie, and then laminated them. Then, the kids use a dry erase marker to mark off each time they do a chore. Each chore is worth 25 cents, and the max they can earn per week is $5. (I was nervous that Nate would get a little money-hungry and decide to do all 11 chores every day of the week. Which would total $19.25!!) We count up chores every Sunday night and they get their allowance then. And then we wipe the chart clean for the new week.

We started these chores two weeks ago, and at the end of week one, Abby earned $3 and Nate had earned $3.50!! He was super excited if you can't tell :)

 

 The system worked perfectly.....it was up to them whether they wanted to earn a lot of money and help out, or just do a few things here & there. Either way, the responsibility was put on their shoulders, and I didn't have to nag anyone! The chart was simple for Nate to read and he helped Abby fill hers out as well, so I was very pleased with the outcome.

 

Greg & I joked that after the first week, there would be a huge drop-off in the kids' interest. As usual, we were right! This past Friday, each kid had only done 2 chores ALL WEEK, so they busted their butts this past weekend and did a few more. Nate earned $2.25 last night and Abby got $1.50, ha!

 

I am still trying to teach them that as soon as we earn money, we don't run to the Dollar Store or to buy Pokémon cards!! That lesson is going to take a little longer, I know. Right now, they're having fun and earning money and that's all I can ask for at this point in time.