Determining Your Teen&#39s Allowance

Introduction

Determining your teen’s allowance has a great deal to do with your personal beliefs about money management. While some parents believe that a child should participate in chores simply because they need to contribute as part of the family, other parents see doing extra work around the house as a good opportunity to teach children about consequences and the value of a dollar.

Instructions

It is wise to only start giving your child an allowance when they begin having expenses. This usually starts during their early teen years. As you determine how much your teen’s allowance should be, keep the following points in mind.

1.Expenses of Your Teen

As you begin to contemplate what amount is an appropriate allowance amount for your child, think of the financial obligations that they have. Are they responsible for buying their own clothes, lunch or club dues? Perhaps they have entertainment costs that they would like to have money for. Consider these costs on a weekly basis. Do not be too tight with your teen’s allowance. They should have a dollar or two extra each week so that if a larger expense comes up, it will be possible for them to save their money over a period of time (thus learning self-control) in order to pay for that item.

2.Additional Earning Potential

It is generally not a good idea to give your child a financial reward for any little thing that is done in the house. Children need chores not only to learn important principles of what it takes to run a household but also to learn how to better appreciate their parents, their possessions, etc. However, you may want to consider having additional or larger chore options that are available to your kids that they can use to increase their allowances. As long as their normal chores are done to the parent’s satisfaction, the allowance amount should be able to change from week to week depending on the child’s willingness to put in the extra work.

3.Maturity and Money Management Skills

An allowance is an opportunity to teach your children principles about earning, saving, and spending money that they will need to have once they enter the work force. This is why it is important for your child to be old enough to have the maturity to understand that if a certain job was not done as instructed or if there were actions throughout the week that were not according to the agreements made when an allowance was established, there will be consequences. An allowance is a reward for exceptional work above and beyond what was required of them for the week.

Conclusion

Once your child reaches the age where they can go out and find a job of their own, they will no longer need an allowance. When they go out and work for another individual for their pay there is really no need for mom and dad to supplement that anymore. The child will still have more of their own expenses to manage and should be given the opportunity to make monetary mistakes in order to learn. If you are still unsure about how to determine your teen’s allowance, consider how individuals are compensated in the workforce. You are given a base rate for basic responsibilities. Failure to perform to an acceptable standard could lead to loss of payment. Success in required responsibilities and doing more or better work than is expected leads to a raise. Reflecting these types of principles in the way that you determine your teen’s allowances will best prepare them for real-life working environments. Hopefully, through your thoughtful determination of an appropriate allowance during your child’s teenage years, they will be better prepared to learn harder lessons of money once they are given the responsibility of doing so on their own.