A parent recently wondered how to determine what jobs a child might do to earn an allowance and what jobs are just expected. The family already stresses the value of working as a team and has the expectation that everyone contributes to household chores. However, their child was increasing asking “if” and “how much” he would be paid for the job. The amount of energy he was willing to put into a job seemed commensurate to the amount of money promised. Perhaps you have a similar issue – here’s one possible solution. (And Thank You to the parent who submitted the question about this topic.)
Children need to learn the ins and outs of employment. Information is the way to go on this one. It helps to have a conversation that lays out how a child will know whether a job is a paid position or personal responsibility. For example, you could explain that as a member of “Team (your family name)”, he is expected to take care of his personal property (picking up after himself, cleaning his room, hanging up a towel he has used). He is also responsible to help in the general sense of caring for the house (vacuum, dust, set the table). Those jobs may rotate with everyone in the house taking a turn. The family benefits from doing the work together because then it frees up the adults to earn the money to buy the food and pay the bills. He doesn’t earn money for those things because he is already “paid” in the larger sense of having a home and food to eat.
Then there are the money makers. Brainstorm with your child about some of the extra jobs that he or she is able to do in order to earn money. This list includes things that are different from what is just part of running the everyday routine. The list could include sweeping the sidewalks, wash the car, cleaning out a hall closet, hosing out all the trash cans (gloves for this job). These are jobs that are not done on a daily basis and are not clearly a child’s work. Your child can be “employed” for this type of job. This is also something children can offer to do for others (relatives, family friends) in order to earn money. Then at some point, you may want to introduce service work in the community (raking an elderly neighbor’s lawn, preparing food for someone who is moving in/out) so that children get the big picture of personal responsibility, gainful employment, and contributions to the general welfare of the community.
If you have ideas that you’ve found helpful, feel free to add your comments.