Chores: to pay or not to pay

When parents decide to have their children do chores it often leads to a debate as to whether the children should be paid or not. I say yes-to both. Children should be expected to do regular chores for no pay. Regular chores teach responsibility, life skills (how to do your laundry and not shrink your clothes) and a sense of community. Everyone needs to understand that they are responsible for maintaining the house they live in. For children these chores can include kitchen clean-up, laundry, cleaning their room, and more, depending on their age. A five year old can help clear the table and fold or put away towels. When my children were 9 or 10 years old they became responsible for doing their laundry. Supervised at first and then on their own. I think laundry is a good regular chore. If they don't do their chore, their favorite shirt is not clean and ready to wear on Saturday night. It has a built in consequence! A general rule in my house is "if you don't cook, you clean." (watch for future article on "baby of the family" for the exception to this. lol) I don't think children should be paid for these. And please, never pay your child to fed or bathe the pet they just had to have and promised to take care of if you got it!
Extra chores and special chores should be rewarded with pay. Washing the car, helping paint, and weeding the garden are good special chores. Paid chores should be harder or take longer than regular chores because the idea is to teach your child a good work ethic. If you want to earn money, you have to apply yourself and do a good job. If you "hire" your child to weed the garden and most of the weeds are still there when they finish, have them go back and weed some more to fulfill their side of the contract. But, don't expect perfection. If you "hire" your child to weed your garden and there are no weeds left when they finish, give them a bonus for doing such a good job. If you are fortunate enough to live close to the grandparents and your child is wanting to earn some money, perhaps they can do chores for them to earn a little money. Depending on the age and agility of the grandparents, there may be things that are becoming hard for Grandma to do such as plant annual flowers in the garden or straighten out that bottom cabinet of Tupperware. In the end when and how to pay your child is up to you. Just put some thought into it before you jump in and commit. Once you do reach a decision, stick to your side of it and pay them the amount agreed upon promptly.

The Momma