allowance and jobs

This morning, Owen surprised me by sorting the overflowing pile of laundry on the couch.  He put all the shirts in one pile, the shorts in another, the pajamas in another, and so on.  While it was not that helpful to me, I was very pleased with his initiative and unconventional sorting skills. {He helps the older kids sort clothes all the time, but usually it is sorted by ownership, not by clothing type.} He was so proud of his accomplishment and asked if he could have a quarter for his efforts.  I would be an ungrateful mom if I couldn't pay my boy a quarter once in awhile for his good attitude and nice surprise.

Typically, we do not pay our children to do work* at our house - it's just one of those things that's expected as a member of our family. However, the kids do get allowance.  Once a month they are given dollars equal to their age.  It's not going to make them rich, rather, it's a tool to teach them how to manage money.  They first pay a 10% tithe to our church, then they are required to put half in savings, which is initially a separate jar in their rooms.  Every few months, they go to the bank with dad and deposit their sums in savings accounts.  The rest (40%) is theirs to spend. These deductions also apply to money they get from babysitting, birthdays, and not eating candy for a year**.

Owen gets allowance every month too , but since he's 4, money isn't appreciated like it is with the older kids.  He typically gets 1 dollar bill and lots of coins, with which he is always thrilled and thinks the other kids get the shaft with no coins.  I think we officially started allowance with the older kids when they were 6 or 7, but Owen might start sooner, because he is starting to see that the older kids find so much value in it and they can buy "cool stuff."  Just now he went to put his newly-earned quarter away.  He came back to tell me he has enough for a space ship. He has no idea what a space ship costs, but I'm glad he has this idea of "saving."

*Some jobs are done daily, some as needed.  The expected workload includes, but is not limited to:

all (Owen included)
clean bedrooms
make beds
vacuum bedrooms
fold and put away laundry

Molly
load and unload dishwasher
babysit
help with dinner

Grace
wipe down kids' bathroom sink
set and clear dinner table (and lunch on weekends)

Jonah
wipe down kids' toilet
take all garbages out

Owen
help Jonah with garbages
unload silverware from dishwasher


This system works pretty well for us.  The kids have had these same jobs for months and months.  I want them to get really good at their jobs, and maybe someday we'll change things up.  There are definitely other things they are asked to help with, but the jobs listed above are just understood and {usually sometimes} get done without us having to ask.

**The last 2 years, we have let the kids decide what to do with their "no-candy" money.  Of course, they pay their tithing, but after that, it's been theirs to spend or not.  They have all kept it in their spending jars, with no immediate plans to spend it.  Jonah always talks about buying things, but only rarely follows through.