Commission vs Allowance to teach kids about money is the great parenting debate when it comes to choosing a system to train kids about money and work ethics. Hubby and I are intentional in teaching our girls fundamental life skills by creating a home environment that reinforces real world experiences. We first used the allowance system for our girls to earn money but changed over the course of the years to the commission system because we wanted our girls to understand the importance of hard work.
We started our girls with earning money when they were three years old. This is the ideal age when they start to learn basic life skills and some start preschool. Take the time to teach your child to hone the following skills:
- make bed
- help put toys away
- put clothes in the laundry basket
- fold clean clothes with help
- empty the silverware from the dishwasher with assistance
From ages four to seven we noticed a need to feel independent, a skill needed to get them ready for elementary school and various social settings. In addition to the preschool tasks mentioned above, we added several more simple cleaning chores:
- dusting and mopping
- doing laundry
- cleaning the sink in the bathroom
- feeding pets
- washing the dishes
- basic cooking like making a sandwich or an omelette.
Children are amazing beings and parents should never underestimate what they are capable of.
From ages eight to ten, we are entering the hormonal changes with the need to gain even more independence. We extended the job responsibilities to:
- cleaning the toilet bowl properly
- taking out trash, vacuuming
- preparing a simple meal
From ages eleven to thirteen, your child can begin to perform many tasks independently. They should be able to help with:
- preparing meals
- ironing clothes
- looking after younger siblings
- using basic hand tools with supervision
By age fourteen, your child should have mastered all of the previous skills and should be able to perform more sophisticated cleaning and maintenance chores and have a basic understanding of finances.
Hubby and I used the allowance system in the early years and decided that there was an element of self-entitlement we didn’t foresee. There was so much inconsistency on our parts as well as our girls’ and it resulted in our girls not having ownership or feeling motivated to complete their tasks. Initially, the tasks were not defined but simply assumed to be performed to earn money.
Once we took inventory of our system “failure”, Hubby and I knew we needed a more effective strategy to prepare our girls for the real world and for them to understand that earned money comes from hard work. As we listen to various money podcasts we decided to implement the commission system and became more intentional in having a clear and defined plan for our girls to earn money.
Commission vs Allowance to teach kids about money transfers ownership from the parents to the children resulting in an evident pride and joy on pay day. We saw the difference in our children, who became more business savvy. They knew exactly what was expected of them and now work smarter to be paid or try to negotiate other business opportunities to earn extra income.
We are proud to say that our girls are taking more responsibility and are displaying a better work ethic we know will carry them through adulthood. We would like to add a disclaimer that not all task qualify for commission. Many tasks are simply expected for being part of the family.
We have been asked about resources to implement children earning money at home so we decided to create a sample Commission Chore Chart printable (See link at the bottom). We are here to answer any additional questions you may have and encourage you to stay the course when it comes to using commission vs allowance to teach kids about money. It’s a work in progress but once the seeds are planted, remember to water as needed with encouragement and watch the harvest as your children grow to be confident in work ethics and money management.
Weekly-Commission-Task-Chart-1.pdf (61 downloads )
