Do you give your kids pocket money or an allowance?
There are a lot of questions that emerge when this topic comes to mind. Naturally parents wonder when children are old enough to have money of their own – and further, if allowances are even needed at all. Well, the answer is that starting sooner is better, and yes, there are too many positive benefits to giving your child an allowance to totally discount the idea without at least giving it a second thought.
What Age?
Well, experts tend to think that a young age is a great time to start. This may seem strange – giving young children money – but in reality it can teach them invaluable lessons that will stay with them for the rest of their lives. So, four is an age that is recommended. Of course, you know your child better than anyone, and because of this you need to determine when you think the best time would be for your child.
Why Give an Allowance?
You may also be wondering why you should bother with an allowance at all. After all, children should help out around the house without expecting anything in return, right? They shouldn’t get money to buy new toys because they are doing what they were supposed to do in the first place.
But there is an entirely different way to think about it: what if children use their money for other purposes? And what if in the process of doing this they learn more about money – how much things really cost, how and when to spend it, and on and on. Because the truth is that there is so much to learn about money, budgeting, and just using the money you have responsibly, that it does take a long time to learn how to do it all properly.
Give children an allowance, but encourage them to not just always spend it on the latest new toy. How about sometimes they use their money to help others in need? You can also give them allowance money that is to be used for items you would have had to buy otherwise: like new clothes or shoes. This way they can take the money into the store, figure out how much they have and how much that means they can buy, and purchase essential items themselves.
In the end, children can learn a lot from an allowance. And yes, there is much more to learn than just that parents will give money whenever they ask. Because that’s not what an allowance is really about – at least when it’s done right.
