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Should Kids Get Paid for Chores? Best Reasons For & Against!

December 7, 2022

Should kids get paid for chores? That’s the question this article answers very comprehensively.

Apart from just answering this question, this article also delves very deeply into the entire concept of paying kids for chores, the advantages and disadvantages and also tips to help parents with this.

Table of Contents

The Concept of Paying Kids For Chores

Many times parents try to figure out whether or not they should make their children do chores around the house, and if so, should they pay them for it?

Really, there’s no simple answer to this, but some parents feel that a list of chores is something that should be part of every kid’s life, but the question of “should they be paid for doing chores” still remains.

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Every child should do some chores and help their parents out around the house.

The chores they do will vary, depending on their age, but they range from cleaning their own rooms and making their own beds to drying dishes, taking out the garbage, dusting furniture, and maybe even walking the dog and getting paid.

It’s a good idea for a child to have a list of chores that they do every day – it helps prepare them for the real world where us adults aren’t able to escape out chores, regardless of how badly we want to.

Having chores will also give children a sense of responsibility.

Also See: How Thirteen Year Old Teens Make Money Doing Babysitting Jobs.

Should a Child Be Paid for Their Chores?

Some parents may call this an allowance, but whatever you call it, if a child doesn’t get their allowance because they failed to do their choice, it is called a payment in our book.

Is it a bad idea or a good idea to pay your kids for doing their chores?

We believe in taking a look at both pictures, so here’s a look at both sides, starting with reasons to pay your children for the chores they do, and ending with reasons not to pay them:

5 Reasons to Pay Your Kid for Chores

1. Paying for Chores will Teach Children about the Concept of Work

Many people believe that no child under the age of 16 should have to hold down a job, regardless of what it may be. Chores will teach the child how to behave appropriately and do their schoolwork.

In reality, the world works in a way whereas when you do jobs, you get paid for them, and no one should have to do work free.

Mind you, the payment may not always consist of money, but people should get something in return, even if it’s just the satisfaction of having a well-made bed that is comfortable to sleep in.

Paying a child a couple of dollars when they complete their chores can do a lot of good – it can teach them how things in the house don’t just get there by magic (someone has to work for all those nice things) and it teaches them about the concept of work.

They will start to understand that someone had to work to make money to pay for all of those nice things.

So, handing your child a couple of dollars each week for doing their chores on a routine basis will help prepare them for the real world, and get them in the habit of routinely doing their chores.

2. Paying Your Kid will Provide Incentive

As your child makes money on a regular basis because they’re contributing to the workload in the household, they will start to see it adding up and in return, this is going to give them a sense of accomplishment.

This can push them to make sure they finish all of their chores in enough time so that they can go out and spend those ten dollars with their friends or they may choose to save the money up so that they can buy that new pair of shoes they have been admiring.

Point blank, by adding a little monetary incentive, it can teach your child that if they work hard enough, they can achieve their goals.

3. It Teaches Kids to Save Up for Something They Really Want

A good reason to pay your kids for chores they do around the house is to teach them about saving up and responsibility.

Instead of buying the child a new video game or toy that they really want, having them do chores around the house or around the neighorhood to earn money for the item will teach them life-skills.

This is a process and it may take some time, but eventually, the child will learn about the value of a dollar.

And once they have saved up enough to buy that new accessory they have been dreaming of, instead, they may change their mind and keep their money for something more important.

After all, the child did work really hard for it.

Also See: How To Earn Money and Get Paid as a Short Stories Writer.

Should Kids Get Paid for Chores

4. Getting Your Kid to Do Chores will be Easier if You Pay Them for it

We’re not going to sugar-coat things here, if you have a teenager or a child in elementary school who never seems to listen to what you need, adding money to the game may make it easier to get them to do their chores.

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Instead of getting upset at your children or constantly have to remind them what they’re responsible for doing around the house, adding some money into the scenario may give them the push they need.

Do chores and get money.

Don’t do chores, and don’t get any money.

It’s that simple.

Also See: How to Make Money as a Thirteen Year Old.

5. The Child Will Understand What it Means to Earn Something

When you pay a kid to do their chores, it will help them understand what it means to earn something.

Just like some parents reward their children with ice cream for getting good grades on their report card or when they finish their homework, they get to visit their friends, when they do their chores during the weekend, they earn their allowance.

This is a method you can use to teach your kids that slacking off or bad behavior isn’t going to be rewarded.

In order to get things in life, you need to earn them.

Also See: How Kids Can Get Educational Books for Free.

5 Reasons Not To Pay Your Kid for Chores

1. They May Brag to Their Friends

When you pay your children for chores, they may go to their friends and brag that they get paid to do chores around the house, and this could lead to their friends going to their own parents with the idea, which could make it where other parents resent you.

Of course, if you want to pay your children for chores, there are many benefits to doing so and you should implement whatever strategies you feel would work best for your children and what everyone else does in their house is their business.

If this is something that you’re worried about, then you can speak with your children and make sure they understand to keep their allowance details to themselves and not tell anyone how much money they have in their piggy bank.

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2. This Suggests that Chores around the House are a Job

We don’t want our children to feel as if we are putting them to work when they are already busy enough with their school.

Chores are jobs.

At some point, you can explain to your kids that you do household chores as well, and you don’t get paid for them either.

Simply asking your children to do chores and eliminating money from the picture will let them understand that everyone is responsible for contributing to the household and that the chores they do aren’t a job, but just something that has to be done.

3. You Could Place Too Much Value on Money

It’s important that children understand the value of a dollar, but you don’t want to have your children believing that money is the end-all and that everything they so should have a monetary value.

You can combat this thought process by also getting your child to donate old books, do some volunteer work, or help others for selfless reasons and not because they’ll make money doing it.

This will teach them the balance of life and show them how doing things for other people with no hidden agenda can be just as rewarding as earning money.

4. They May Try to Get Out of Chores by Forgoing Money

If a child uses the chores to get paid, then one day, if they don’t feel like cleaning the toilet or something along those lines, they may say “Oh, it’ll be fine, I don’t need the money.”

Asking your child to do chores is going to require some consistency and you don’t want them to believe they can opt-out of doing their chores just because they don’t want anything or don’t need the money right now.

Also See: Ways to Make Money Writing Commercial Jingles.

5. They May Start to Think They Should be Paid for Everything They Do

When you start to pay your child for chores, they may start to believe that they should earn money for everything you ask them to do.

For example, you may ask them to help you plant squash in the garden or to look after their younger brother or sister and they may start to demand an hourly rate.

Of course, you can get this situation under control by making them understand what regular chores are and anything else you ask them to do should be done with a “no problem, I can do that” attitude and that’s just how it is.

Conclusion

Whether you choose to pay your children for the chores they do around the house or not is completely up to you.

You, after all, are their parent and the one in control. Just take the information we just gave you into consideration before you make your final decision.

This article has comprehensively answered the age-old question of whether kids should get paid to do chores or not.

Apart from just answering this question, this article also delved very deeply into the entire concept of paying kids for chores, the advantages and disadvantages and also tips to help parents with this.

Again, this company has paid $25+ million to members: