3 Simple Allowance Rules for Parents That You NEED to Apply

If you’re already giving your kids an allowance (or are starting to consider it) here are 3 simple rules to make sure you are doing your part as a parent to stay consistent about the messages you send to your children about money and responsibility.

Not all families give allowances to their children, but many parents see the benefits of giving their child a set amount of money weekly or monthly.

Allowances teach kids to recognize the value of the dollar

In the eyes of most kids, the value of their dollar is far more precious than that of their parents’ dollar! Consequently, kids learn that money is a limited resource, that you should be choosy about what you buy, and that sometimes you have to save up for weeks or months to afford something you really want.

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Allowances help with “The Gimmes”

Parents usually experience a high rate of requests when taking their kids to the store. When a child points to something they want, simply say, “It’s up to you. How much of your allowance do you have saved up?” Pointing to the fact that they have their own money often takes care of the whining, begging, and arguments that ensue when out shopping. Having their own money to spend as they please empowers children while taking the heat off of you to provide all the “extras” kids want. Still trying to decide if giving an allowance is right for your family? Read more about how and when to set an allowance: Allowance 101: A Parent’s Guide to Giving Kids Allowance.

3 Simple Allowance Rules for Parents

1. Pay out on time. When you pay out allowances inconsistently, you are sending out a very bad message about money management: that it’s okay to be late on scheduled payments. It’s simply not okay to pay our landlords, credit card companies, and other bill collectors after the scheduled due date, so we should model that to our kids by paying them on time as well. When they are old enough, you can talk to your kids about the real life consequences of paying things late: fees, higher interest rates, interruption or cancellation of services. These aren’t fun things to talk about, but taking the mystery out of how this stuff works may save them heartache and hardship later in life. And if they remember how you were always on time to pay them, it reinforces the lesson of upholding financial commitments all the more.
2. Don’t dictate what your kids spend their allowances on. It may make us cringe to see our kids spend their allowances on toys that they will forget about in two days or yet another bottle of purple nail polish, but that’s what an allowance is for. Also, try not to interfere when your child wants to buy something you feel is an inferior product. “You get what you pay for” is a tough lesson to learn, but better to learn it at 10 years old at the cost of $12 than to learn it later down the line with items costing hundreds or thousands of dollars.
3. Don’t take away allowance as a punishment. Peace In Your Home promotes logical consequences for when boundaries have been crossed.   If a child breaks curfew, it wouldn’t make sense to take away his allowance since money has nothing to do with coming home on time. If a child breaks a window in the house, simply taking away her allowance wouldn’t make much sense either. Instead, it would be more logical for the child to pay for the new window out of her allowance. Taking away her allowance is merely a punishment, but having her pay for her mistake with her own money is a lesson. Actually, it’s two lessons: that we all have to take personal responsibility for our actions and that sometimes decisions we make end up costing money.

Whether or not you give an allowance is a personal decision, but by following these 3 Simple Allowance Rules for Parents you can make sure that you deliver a consistent, positive message about personal finances to your kids.

by Pamela Layug Laney