Jun. 29, 2006 - Paying Children for Chores |
Here is an email from Hilary about paying children for chores around the house. She is asking a very common question that every parent wrestles with at some point.
"I am considering implementing a change in our chores where we would pay for some chores. Have you done any study in the Bible for this and have any comments? I know some passages of Scripture that would advocate giving the worker his pay for work, and I hope that this would give them a way to earn some money and learn how to budget. Our kids are 11, 9, 7 and 5. Right now we don't give them an allowance, but they earn money rarely if they do some special chore (but we don't have these come up often, so they don't earn much). They tithe on the money they earn and that they receive, and they save I think 40% or so of the rest of the money. The type of chores I was thinking of would be the ones that they do now -- daily flooring, dishes, bathrooms, laundry etc. I'd still make sure they did some other chores just because we're a family."
I commend Hilary for having her children tithe on their earnings and for having them save a large portion of it. Good job!
Now let's see if we can help her by having everyone leave comments about how they would handle this situation. Don't get side-tracked on the issue of paying children "allowances." That's a different subject that we'll leave that for another day. Focus only on paying children to do chores around the house.
Below are some of my thoughts to get the ball rolling.
1. I generally do not advocate paying children for household chores. Household chores are a part of life. Children may as well learn early on that no one gets paid to clean up after themselves. The exception is that I think it's okay to pay children to do work that you would otherwise be paying someone else to do. For example, you can pay your children to replace your cleaning service, lawn service, etc. IF you normally hire someone else to do that work anyway.
2. I think the Scripture Hilary is referring to about the worker being worthy of his wages is found in Luke 10:7. I don't see this as applying to children doing household chores. This is more appropriate when hiring someone to do a job. As I stated in #1, you might actually hire your children in some circumstances and they would be worthy of their wages provided they do a good job. Are there other verses that might apply?
3. I think it is much more beneficial, however, to have children seek their wages by doing chores for others -- neighbors, friends, etc. This might include any number of tasks from house cleaning, lawn mowing, yard work, pulling weeds, snow shoveling, raking leaves, etc. Of course it all depends on the child's age, skills, and the nature of the work. I have found that neighbors love to oblige industrious, hard-working children who are willing to do good work. They'll hire them just to encourage them.
4. If you can't find anyone who will hire your children, then try having them volunteer to do chores for someone in need who can't afford to pay. For example, maybe you have an elderly neighbor who can't handle certain tasks. Volunteer your children to do those tasks and you pay them yourself. Your neighbor will be blessed while your children get to practice their skills, earn a little money from you, and feel a sense of accomplishment. Sure, you're out some cash but you were going to pay them anyway to work for you so it's no real loss.
Those are my initial thoughts. What do you have to say? Let's help Hilary sort this out and see what we can learn together from each other. Thanks in advance for your contributions!
Related Tags: paying children for chores, paying children, allowances, paying an allowance, jobs for children
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Jun. 30, 2006 - Untitled Comment |
| Posted by gottsegnet |
I agree. I don't think there is anything in scripture that really indicates we must pay our dependent children for anything. Personally, I think the first thing children need to learn in managing money is that money is earned and representative of work, rather than a right of membership in our family. I don't think we learn good money magaement by being given money. I think that notion only prepares people to look to the government or to greater debt when they want something later.
We recently decided to stop signing our daughter up for gymnastics and immediately she asked if she could go if she could pay for it. We tried to explain that there was no way she'd be able to pay for it...it was a lot of money. So she started coming up with plans to make money...raking leaves, walking dogs, whatever she could think of. She is still a little young, and my husband didn't like the idea of her going door to door but was impressed by her enthusiasm to try to earn this.
So we decided we'd pay her two dollars and hour for work she's not normally expected to do. She weeded the drive and the garden, helped with packing and other things associated with getting the house ready for show, washed the cars and anything else she could think of. It took her a month, but she did finally earn the money she needed to continue in gymnastics. |
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Jun. 30, 2006 - Reply to Gottsegnet |
| Posted by stevebraun |
Very good points and a great testimony too. It's amazing what kids will do when they are motivated to achieve a goal. You might be surprised with how well she'd do going "door to door" in your neighborhood. I think it would work if you and/or your husband accompanied her.
Keep up the good work!
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Jun. 30, 2006 - We seem to be on the same page too..... |
| Posted by |
We have chores/life skills which rotate equally amongst the kids as expected contributions to household management. However we mow 12 acres, which we feel is above and beyond household chores.
So the kids do get paid by the hour to mow (currently $1.25/hr as beginners....we'll go up to $5.00/hr over time as they take on mower maintenance and repair duties). And yes, we'd have to pay for help if we didn't have our live-in home helpers!
Maureen
Edited by TRINITYPREPSCHOOL on Jun. 30, 2006 at 7:30 PM |
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Jun. 30, 2006 - Maureen |
| Posted by stevebraun |
Thanks for your comment. I'd agree that 12 acres of mowing is above and beyond the normal call of duty. My allergies kick in just thinking about cutting all that grass!
Steve
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Jul. 1, 2006 - Untitled Comment |
| Posted by a4givensinner |
I pay my kids an allowance, but my system is based on other things:
First, while I agree there is nothing in scripture that says "Thou shall pay thy children for chores" there is also nothing that says "Thy children shall do chores because they are a part of the family". Therefore, the decision has to be made biblically speaking, based on other scriptures.
For me, it came down to "he who does not work does not eat" and "train up a child in the way he should go". If my children are not contributing to the chores, they should not get the privaledges of eating the food I paid for, using the lights I paid for, etc. If my children aren't earning wages, I have no opportunity to train them in how to handle their finances when they are old enough to work.
I finally came up with an elaborate system. Basically it works like this:
Some chores are "givens"...things they do simply because.
Others are "paid" (I pay in rocks)....things they are given to do to earn their rocks
WIth their earnings, they must tithe, save, and pay rent, food and transportation. What is left they may spend on "fun things"
"fun things" cost (i.e. "trip to the park" is 5 rocks)
I posted a detailed description of the in's and out's of the system here:
http://blogs.huggingtheblackbox.org/blogs/templates/showpost_template_4.php?post_id=256&blog_id=5
Plus, as a homeschooler, the "budget ledger" has been an excellent opportunity for math exposure!
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Jul. 2, 2006 - I mostly agree |
| Posted by teammine |
| with all points except for #4. The notion of helping a neighbor in need and paying your child to do it doesn't seem right at all...If there is someone who needs help, then teach your child to help and to meet a need out of Christian good-will and a servant's heart, not because they'll get a kick-back when they go home. |
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Jul. 3, 2006 - Reply to Teammine |
| Posted by stevebraun |
I get your point regarding #4 and it's a good one. Thanks for bringing this up.
I should have been clearer in my explanation. My suggestion is intended as a last resort effort in this sense. If our children don't have opportunities to earn money from us or others, then I think paying them for volunteer work is a legit way to put money in their hands.
I don't believe that negates the lesson of giving and helping others. It will not escape our children that dad and mom are the ones footing the bill. That in itself is a form of giving to the neighbor. (For example, would it be any different if we gave the elderly neighbor cash and she hired her own lawn service?) If the arrangement is properly explained, then I believe our children will understand that this is a work of service. That is, the neighbor gets her lawn cut for free.
In addition, such an arrangement doesn't mean that our children must always be paid for all volunteer work they ever do. There should be times when our children do volunteer work for free. They need to be given true service opportunties too. It's just that in certain instances we may choose to pay them as a means of achieving additional training in working for and handling money. Remember, my idea is a last resort tool to teach them to earn money when normal opportunites just aren't available.
Finally, this principle could be applied to help someone who is NOT "in need" per se. For example, it's possible that none of the neighbors are "in need or can't afford to pay" as I stated. On the other hand, they also may not be willing to pay for any services. We might arrange for our children to do some work for these neighbors anyway -- for free -- but we ourselves compensate them. Again, the point is to give our children working opportunities to earn money.
Hope that clarifies my point. Thanks for bringing up the issue.
Steve
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Jul. 10, 2006 - I am not an expert |
| Posted by Redeemed |
I'm just going to share what we do. Our children do their personal chores and they are expected to help when asked. We give one $2.00/wk and the other $3.00/wk. I know this is not much.
They also are given opportunities to earn money. My husband can always use help keeping his business tools organized or garage space cleaned, etc... They can earn an hourly rate (I forget what my husband offers them - I know it's minimum).
We too are teaching them to save and pay tithes. |
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