We’ve toyed with giving Avery an allowance. We both agreed that she needed to earn the money by doing chores or work. Also, we both agreed that she needs to stop whining and listen & react more (quickly)- stop ignoring us. What to do?
We decided to implement a “commission” based on Dave Ramsey’s take on allowance and earning money.
“There are some jobs they should have to do just because they’re part of the family.” We decided, with Avery, that she needs to feed Minnie every night and empty the 4 trash cans from upstairs by Thursday evening- the trash gets picked up on Friday. She also needs to practice her violin once a day- not a “job” but it’s the same as doing her homework, we expect her to it, and do it well. So far, no complaints.
If she completes all of her jobs, she earns her money, right? No, it’s not that easy. She also has a “+” and “-” section on her board. She’s working to earn, or lose, 25 cents. She can earn more (+) quarters and can lose (-) quarters during the week. She can earn quarters by handling a situation well- not whining, but talking to us calmly about it when she would usually just lose control and whine or cry and by doing extra chores- sweeping, picking up downstairs or whatever chore I think of. She can ask how to earn extra quarters. She can’t ask “did I earn a quarter for…” (sharing my snack with Sawyer). Although, I would give her a quarter for that, she can’t ask for it. She can lose quarters by whining, having an attitude and sass. We simply tell her “stop whining, that’s a quarter.” At first she was a little offended that we kept taking quarters from her, but she quickly caught on… just stop! We see it this way- to be a good employee or employer whining and complaining will not be accepted- besides that, it’s just so annoying!!
“Once they’ve earned their money, sit down with them and divide it into three separate envelopes: one for saving, one for spending, and one for giving. This way, they get to learn about these three important things while they’re learning how to work.” Love this idea. Unfortunately for Avery she’s in debt! She can’t find all the cash she had ($80+) to pay her half of the her new bike ($55). I really hope she figures out where her money is!!
We really want Avery to learn that there is an association between work and money. If she does her jobs well, she gets paid well, if she doesn’t then she won’t get paid well or at all. It’s been two weeks; the first week she earned $4 (yeah!), but at the end of week 2 she earned $1.25!! Lots of whining and complaining on going on!! She’s going to work harder this next week to earn a better pay check next Saturday.
