How does an allowance relate to adding value or improving?
As a child, my parents dabbled in giving me an allowance. I had a base amount given to me each week for doing assigned tasks and I could earn extra by completing additional chores. We even set up a checkbook type notebook with debits and credits. What a grand idea - until it failed.
Allowances have a basic flaw. Often allowance means giving something for nothing. Let's say you were to give your child an allowance for making their bed each day. What is the value for which you are paying? I believe it has nothing to do with making the bed, but it is about teaching accountability. When was the last time a worker was paid for cleaning their desk each day? And has anyone ever been fired for not cleaning their desk? Not cleaning your desk or making your bed is simply a symptom of lack of accountability. What you really desire is accountability.
Now, where does accountability fit into the world of value? Accountability is making oneself liable for providing value. In other words; if my son painted our house, he would be providing value - something I would gladly pay to have done. Being accountable means delivering that value within the expectations of SQDC. Without accountability, the value will disappear. Using a poor quality paint, not finishing before he heads back to college or spending $30,000 on an air sprayer system reduces the value for which I will pay my son.
Dave Ramsey has a fabulous perspective on allowances - he doesn't give them. He says, "I won't pay my children for anything I wouldn't pay another person to do." Giving you kids money for taking out the trash will only teach them to become trash men.
The next time you think about giving an allowance, ask yourself, "what is the value I am trying to receive?" If you can clearly define the value you are seeking, then paying for that value becomes easier. We are often let down when we don't define the value sought and it comes time to pay. My childhood allowance system failed because it was set up to reward me for things that did not provide value to my parents (the people paying) and was really about adding value to me (the person receiving the pay). Wouldn't that be grand - you receive the value and get paid to do it!
When searching the web for "Allowances," I came across this game called "Allowance."
4 comments:
I don't give my children money for work they should do - neither did my parents.
My question is how do you get $$ into your childs hands w/o an allowance style system? Gifts seem like it is something for absolutely nothing. While my kids don't need money they don't expereince the tension between saving and spending that I'd like them to experience. So I can teach them the importance of wanting something but not buying it.
Great point - just don't know how to apply it to my young girls.
I appreciate wanting to teach your children about money, especially the tension of "do I have enough." I recommend you write them a paycheck when they are able to do tasks that are worthy of pay, tasks that add value. This puts the delivery of money in exactly the same terms they will experience when they get their first job. If you have spent time teaching them they 3 basic categories of where their money should go (giving, saving, spending); they can start distributing the paycheck appropriately. It may even help if they have seen you budget in the past with your paycheck.
Thanks for the feedback and question!
Chris,
Great blog from my former NROTC classmate! My wife and I have grappled with this issue in regard to our 7-year-old twin daughters. We tried using an allowance system for awhile, beginning when they were in kindergarten, but found that they did not consistently perform up to our level of expectation for accountability. It has been several months since they last received an allowance. Having read your article, I don't feel quite so bad that they aren't receiving their weekly allowance. Now, we just have to develop a better incentive for promoting (and enforcing) accountability!
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