Parents eventually must decide whether or not to give their children an allowance. The experts, as usual, vary on their answers. Some say yes because it teaches children they need to work to earn money. Others say no because it teaches children the only reason to work is to earn money and then they fear children won’t want to do everyday jobs unless they are paid. A third group says to do some of both. Give children an allowance, but let them know their allowance and their regular responsibilities are not interrelated. However, by doing extra work, they can earn extra money. When our children were younger we joined the third group that falls somewhere in the middle.

Here are some of the pros and cons you may hear for giving your children an allowance:

• Children learn to be responsible for their own money; if they lose it or spend foolishly, they have to deal with the consequences themselves.

• By having some money, children learn the value of money and appreciate it more.

• Parents don’t have to worry about being constantly asked to buy things for their kids.

• Children learn how and why to save, spend, and share money.

• Kids may still want parents to buy things for them.

• Kids will complain that their allowance isn’t enough.

• Children won’t learn to work for what they want.

• Kids may spend it in ways the parents wish they wouldn’t.

We decided to give our children an allowance because it supported one of our most important family goals: preparing our children to survive and thrive in the real world. When you give children an allowance you provide them real life experience in managing their own “paycheck and budget.” Sure, kids will still want parents to buy things for them instead of using their own money. In reality, children who learn to manage money at an early age are better prepared to make financial decisions later in life. And as they become more savvy as spenders, they also are less likely to constantly ask their parents for money. Besides, asking for money doesn’t equal getting.

The amount of money we give our children has increased over time. When we started out they received approximately one dollar for every year of age. This is only a guideline; you need to take into consideration how many children you have and your own financial position. You shouldn’t go broke making sure your kids get their allowance for the week. Together you and your children can determine a fair and reasonable amount. Make sure the amount is enough so your children can look forward to receiving it. Also, let the allowance take care of some of your children’s expenses. For example, we generally pay for the cost of a church activity or trip, but Brian and Amanda provide their own spending money. Don’t give such a large amount of money that your children view it as excess and don’t mind wasting it. Proverbs 30:8, 9 describes a healthy balance to maintain: “Give me enough food to live on, neither too much nor too little. If I’m too full, I might get independent, saying, ‘God’—who needs him?’ If I’m poor, I might steal and dishonor the name of my God” (The Message).

A high-ticket item often provides an opportunity for parents to encourage saving. This can be a valuable lesson for young spenders—major purchases are a necessary part of life. Younger children can be encouraged to save for a special purchase that costs more than their allowance would normally cover. As children grow older and begin to understand that savings can earn interest, special accounts for younger savers can be appealing. As funds accumulate, children often need less encouragement. But shouldn’t a parent be concerned that a child will waste his money? You can count on it! However, we believe it is a wise investment to allow children to learn from $10 mistakes now instead of $1,000 mistakes later on.

Many people are not taught how to handle money as children and end up making costly financial decisions as adults. Now that our children are young adults, we are seeing the benefits of putting money into their hands when they were younger and allowing them to learn about being wise stewards of God’s resources. In our view, giving an allowance can be a real lesson in money matters for your children and can help prepare them for the real world. |L

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