Should Kids Be Paid for Chores?

Should Kids Be Paid for Chores?

chore chartI recently shared this chore chart image on my Facebook page because I thought it was clever and cute.

In response though I got a few unfavorable comments regarding paying children to do chores. These were some of the responses…

“Um, NO. Kids don’t get paid for being a contributing member of the family pulling their own weight.”

“This is a bad idea. Cleaning and picking up after ones self is just part of being alive and part of a family or community. This sets up an unrealistic expectation.”

“And who will pay them to do all this when they have their own home?”

“My kids do their chores because they have to…… what is wrong with today’s society?”

I completely disagree with them.

I shared this photo because I actually plan to copy it in my own home because I do pay my kids to do chores…sort of. I expect my kids to maintain their own bedrooms and in general pick up after themselves without pay. They don’t get paid to vacuum their rooms, bring their dirty clothes to the laundry room, or sweep up the cereal they spilled all over the kitchen floor. Things like those are expected and required but not paid for. There is no allowance.

On the weekend, we also have a family cleanup. Parents and kids alike all start cleaning the house from top to bottom. Either Mom or Dad is captain and we give out the orders. Carpets are vacuumed, loose toys are put away, dishes are brought to the kitchen, countertops are cleaned off, shelves are dusted, library books are re-stacked, etc. During garden season someone is required to go water. No one is paid for this group cleaning. This is part of the responsibility we have as a family and a team to take care of our home. The great thing about it though it that is takes 10-15 minutes we because we are working as a team.

Okay so maybe it sounds like I don’t agree with pay for chores huh?

No, no. I do. The kids can all do extra work if they so choose, to earn money. My 15 year old actually earns a nice chunk of money weekly. He fully cleans the kitchen and does all the dishes daily. He takes out the garbage and the compost. He mops the hardwood floors. He cleans all three bathrooms and scrubs the toilets and showers. For this and more he earns money to pay for the extras he has in his life that mom and dad will not pay for…like an iPhone. He also saves up money for larger ticket items he wants, like his crossbow and all the fishing gear he has. At the moment he is saving for his first car.

My middle child will do all the laundry for pay, though right now she is not consistent about it. When she too is old enough in mom’s estimation to have a smartphone she too will be required to earn the money for it. For her and for my youngest I think this chore chart would be a great way for them to earn some money and to get a few extras around the house taken care of.

It teaches them responsibility either way in my opinion. They are learning just by living in our household that cleaning and maintaining the house has to be done. They are also learning work ethic by working for pay. They are learning that they can work hard and earn money. They are learning that their work has to meet certain standards. They are learning to pay for their own wants because someday they WILL have to pay for their own wants and their own needs.

We really only gift them with things for birthdays and holidays. Other wants can be had if they work for them. They have a source of income if they want it and therefore a method to pay for the things they want. That is responsibility. This chart I think will be good for my two youngest who don’t have the desire to do regular weekly work like their older brother. It would give them the opportunity to earn a little bit here and there when they want to.

I think I have found a good balance in our family. After all, their main job right now is to go to school and give me a good solid effort there. Then they have some responsibilities at home that need to be met without pay and whenever they want to do them, as long as they get done. Then we have some overtime work-for-pay available and it works well in our house if my oldest is any indication. That kid has hustle and some serious work ethic. That is the goal right?

27 Comments

  1. I’m not a mom, so I don’t really know how the dynamics go with kids in the house, but I was a kid once. We got a small weekly allowance, but we were never charged with cleaning the house, only our rooms. I feel as though you strike a good balance between paid and unpaid and I feel as though if I had more of a routine with cleaning the house when I was younger I wouldn’t struggle with house cleaning in my own house today. I think that allowance should be ‘earned’ in some way or another through hard work. Like you said, this work ethic should translate later to a job.
    I did used to get paid $1 for every A I got in school, and that didn’t happen in university but for some reason I still got good grades….

  2. Robin Rue

    I don’t give my kids allowance. They do their chores and occasionally I buy them stuff.

  3. We don’t give the kids allowance. We have looked at it and when we get more organized there will be ways to “earn” money. Ie. Mow grandpas lawn but with regular household stuff it’s just part of living in a big family and they are expected to help out. I don’t get paid for housework (oh I wish I did!!) so they don’t get paid either. ;)

  4. Rebecca Bryant

    Son gets an allowance for chores that are outside normal everyday clean up. I think just like adults who get paid to do jobs outside of homes kids should be paid to.

  5. Milena Milani Barrett

    I don’t give my kids an allowance nor do I pay for chores. I will over the Summer ( They have Winter b-days) let them do extra work for cash in order to buy toys pr video games for themselves.

  6. Ashley @irishred02

    My kids are expected to do their chores without a monetary reward. They save their money they get for birthdays and holidays. When they are older we will revisit

  7. I think as a Mom you have a tough call when it comes to pay or not to pay for chores. I had an allowance, but there was an expectation of me doing the chores.

  8. I totally agree with you… of course, I’m not a mother ;) I see this as a great way to teach the value of working hard to earn the things you want in life. A valuable lesson.

  9. I dont have human kids but I like the idea of an allowance every week for a reward

  10. I did used to pay my son to mow the lawn. It’s not an easy job with a push mower and it takes forever!

  11. Laura Funk

    We have a chore chart and my son can earn money but nothing too formal. I disagree with the commenters in your post too

  12. mail4rosey

    This is a debate. I won’t pay mine and tell them they’re part of the family they help. BUT I do pay them for out of the ordinaries, or I create out of the ordinaries, if they’ve asked for an allowance. :)

  13. maria @ close to home

    WE have a chore chart that incudes stuff like setting table etc. they do not get paid. Mowing grass or others yes

  14. Lorane Rhoden

    I say to each their own … I like your chore chart but I personally would not add money to the chart. Maybe another incentive

  15. Courtney

    To each their own! I think its an important decision to discuss as a family (or at least with your spouse) and do what you think is best for your own children. Other people should mind their own business :) You could compromise by making certain routine chores a “requirement” and offer extras for cash!

  16. Radio Nursery

    I paying him every once in a way is ok. However, I am not sure I would like to pay the kid for every chore he does. He is family!

  17. Michelle

    I think you got the right balance of helping out and chores for pay. Personally, I think teaching them the value of saving and money management is important too. Also, I pay someone to mow my yard and clean my house can I hire your kids? It would save me money. ;)

  18. Mom of 4 in British Columbia

    I think you worded that nicely. It’s hard to find the balance. One thing today that seems to be lacking is teaching children fiscal responsibility and that is just as important as learning to maintain a home. We have 4 children and there are chores expected to be done and then we have chores for payment. The payment is of their choice – cash or being allowed out with friends all day or friends over etc. It’s a work in progress :)

  19. Michelle

    We differentiate between chores, which are not paid, and jobs, which are paid. My girls are still young (3&6), so some of the “jobs” they have now will be”chores”as they get older.

  20. Kat

    I love what you had to say! I love the balance you have in your family, and this is how I will do it when I have kids! I think parents are often so judgmental of other parents. What works for one family may not work for another. We all have different values, ideas, morals, etc. Cheers!

  21. Beth Baxter

    I totally disagree. Why wouldn’t you do this? It teaches kids the value of working for something. I’ve been thinking of implementing this for my 12 year old, when she wants money for various things. :)

  22. Lynn

    I understand both sides of this issue. I believe certain things are chores and the children should not be paid for that. However, I like what Dave Ramsey suggests with paying them commission. So my children have a chores list that says this is your payment to live in this house (so they dont get paid for things on this list). Then they have a commission chart, once they have completed their chores then they can work on items on the commission chart. They do earn money but I have a cap on how much. They receive a paystub from me every two weeks showing what they earned and what they lost with the reason listed beside it.

  23. Renay

    I’m not a parent (yet) but I don’t see anything wrong with paying children for chores. You’re teaching them to work hard for their money and that nothing is going to come easy. Let’s just say you didnt pay them for chores, but, every week you gave them money (what did they do to earn that money??? nothing) so with that said reward them with pay. When you wake up and go to work dont you get a pay check YESSSSSS so what’s wrong with paying kids NOTHING…. I say either pay them or do a chore chart and give them stars then at the end of the week they get rewarded so many ways to make this fun for kids to earn things I LOVE THE IDEA

  24. enlyghten

    *DISCLAIMER* This is only opinion. None of this was typed with the intent to judge anyone.

    $5 for mowing and $2 for vacuuming? I’d have done that every day. I’d barely have known what to do with that kind of money as a kid. My allowance was $2 a week – sometimes, which translated into rarely.

    I’m not sure paying kids for helping the household prosper is really teaching them responsibility. In my mind, a job isn’t a responsibility. A job is the way you fulfill your responsibility for taking care of your family; your paycheck is what you trade to others to help your family survive and hopefully thrive.

    In my personal opinion, teaching kids that money is their reward for helping their family survive and thrive is thinking backwards and it circumvents the entire point of the responsibility one has in a family. Your reward for taking care of, or helping to take care of, your family is that your family and hopefully yourself is well taken care of. I’m not sure that putting a monetary value on that is something I’d want to teach my children.

    That being said, it is vitally important that kids learn how to manage money. I am personally for an allowance. How do you give an allowance without tying it to chores? In my mind it’s not unreasonable to tie the allowance to schoolwork. I know there are any number of reasons why this might not be a valid metric for many children, but it might be a place to start.
    -The reason I say school, is because there is some correlation between school aptitude and college or career aptitude. It’s also the closest analog to having a job that many children have. If you treat school like work, where hard work is rewarded with money, (ideally on a tiered level of promotions based on effort and performance) it might set in motion the idea that schooling is the means by which we prepare ourselves to take care of both ourselves and our family.

    Again, just my personal opinion.

  25. I think it depends on what they do for example if they make beds laundry simple things like that no if its something bigger like look after siblings walk dog wash car then yes

  26. Dayna

    I made this chart. I didn’t have any idea it would travel so far or maybe I would have spent more time on it. 😊

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