Do you pay your kids for doing stuff around the house?

My son is at that age (12) where I believe he needs to start learning some lessons on life, the value of a dollar, importance of doing a good job, etc.
I've pushed a little but have not gotten to the point where I "make him" do stuff.


It's hard for me to wrap my head around paying to do something like mow your own lawn and other things around the house.
But wifey grew up in a house where she got paid something for helping out.

4 kids here. I think I mainly had kids so I didn't have to clean the house. My kids have chores and do not get paid to do them. If Mom and Dad don't get paid to clean up after them, then they shouldn't either.

Now when one wants something special like a new game, Pokemon cards, etc. I will come up with a list of extra chores so they can earn that gift. I will have them wash the truck, pulling weeds, etc.

my boys had chores as soon as they were old enough to handle work. Never paid them, they were told all their needs would be taken care of. All their wants would be evaluated. Both are grown have great work ethics.

We provided our kids a modest weekly 'allowance'.
This combined with a roof over their head, three meals a day, and a cell phone, meant they were responsible to help around the house doing chores of various descriptions (taking out trash, feeding the dog, unloading the dishwasher, helping rake leaves, etc.)
There was no additional incentive or compensation.
We always thanked and loved them for their efforts, albeit they occasionally would put up a little resistance from time to time.

When I was a kid I had some chores that were expected of me like taking the trash out and mowing the yard that I didn't get paid for. But if I actually worked on the ranch doing things like building fence or plowing, I usually got paid.

Until my parents divorced, we were paid for some chores, but not all. Cleaning our room, no money...washing our parents' cars and work vehicles, we got $5 to $10/vehicle depending on size. Lawn mowing paid my sister $20, but it was a riding mower and an acre (she got the better end of that deal), household laundry (all the sheets, towels, etc.) and we hung our sheets and everything except towels on the clotheslines...that paid, as did vacuuming the house and mopping the floors...We also had to polish the furniture, which meant not just the tops, but the legs of the tables and chairs. We also had the privilege of polishing the paneling, including the baseboards, once a month...Yeah, Mom paid us for that work.

Mom would buy our school clothes that she deemed necessary, but other things like toys, clothes we wanted, etc. came out of our chore money.

First off, I'll say it is important for kids to do chores regularly. This teaches them responsibility, and it teaches them how to do essential tasks. Perhaps most importantly, it keeps me from having to do those chores.

Regarding money, my opinion is that if you are paying a kid, then the kid should have to use that money on their "wants." Doesn't really matter whether that money comes from an allowance, or from doing chores. They should have to pay for their toys, or to go to the movies, etc.

If you are not paying an allowance or for chores, then the parents will have to give them money as needed for those things.

we got 25c a week from the very early 60s till mid 60s when we got a whopping raise to 50c, saturdays if the parents wanted us gone we got an extra 50c and told to leave till the movies were over.

money went a whole lot farther back then.

we were expected to do normal kid stuff around the house, I even learned to change the oil on a 65 rambler ambassador for an extra 50c when it needed it.
I think it helped with the work ethic and sort of on money management, the money part came a lot later in life though.

The ordinary "keep the house running" chores, like helping with laundry, taking out the trash, or vacuuming the house, are unpaid.

But the dirty jobs, like scooping cat litter boxes or scrubbing toilets, are paid.

Some good info here.
I've been wondering on how to approach this. One thing I know right now is kids these days are SOFT.
It doesn't take much for them to throw in the towel and give up. I would say "at least mine" but other dad who I have been speaking with say the same.

They do as they are told and don't get paid.

I would have gladly scrubbed toilets and such, but my parents would have had to beat me to death trying to get me to mess with a cat litter box. And even after my death, I still wouldn’t have f-ed with their stupid cat litter boxes.

We never did pay them, earn your keep mentality here. In fact, my 22 year old has been mowing every week since he has been here after graduating college. He’s about to be gone to his new job in another state end of this month so I will be mowing again

As kids we were paid in room and board. If we balked at chores, dad would get a suitcase out and tell us we could go at any time.

This....

In order to be awarded your allowance, you had to complete your chores and aid in daily activities without b*tching about it. If you did anything wrong, you were not awarded your allowance.