k montoya

I give Carla 8 and Ted 6 a quarter per year of age per
week, no strings, no chores, to spend or save as they
like, whenever, wherever. DH won't be happy giving
them more w/o chores tied to it and I refuse to do
that. BUT he DOES give them all his pennies and
nickels and I notice he has more of those lately for
some reason <wink-wink>.

Family $$ buy all clothes, shoes, art supplies, and
lots of sweets/snacks/games/toys and they have choice
in all that too, naturally. I love toys and we have
TONS of them. YES I DID need 5 Furbys (and 2 Shelbys)
or they would be LONELY (that's ME talking here not
the kids). How long am I gonna have where they will
PLAY with me, anyway?!? I have to admit I take
shameless advantage of that and enjoy every minute of
it!

We collectively decided to save some change in a
milk jug for a while and when it got too heavy, we
turned them in at the change machine and it wsa $33,
enough for Peter Piper Pizza with LOTS of tokens!! The
kids were amazed, pennies are NOT useless!
Those change-counter machines are fun too.

If the kids put $ in the 'mom bank' to save for a
particular item that they didn't choose when I was
toy-buying this week, then I match their saving
amount. Carla is saving for a pocket Neopets game and
it is SO hard for her to save...I can SEE her struggle
with it but she is determined and that is so cool! It
also sucks though, for it to take so LONGGGGGG so this
gives her a way to see the $ grow faster. I also keep
a roll of quarters per 2 weeks for rewarding
especially cool stuff they do, but not in a "See, I am
being good, Mom" way--hehe. Sometimes I put one by the
toothbrushes, first one to remember the toothbrushing
gets it >:)...ain't I a stinker?!? What shining
smiles we have!!

I often ask whoever is handy for help doing things in
the house, general chores, and I also help them with
their rooms (or DO the rooms for them) when and if
they need it (which they often do...but their
choice)...usually they say 'sure' and help but I also
am mindful to ask them at times they aren't interested
in something else and they can ALWAYS say no and it is
REALLY fine, no shaming, just 'oh, ok'. I do,
however, say when they DO decide to help that 'More
hands makes the work light' and sometimes point out
that we have more time for fun stuff when everyone
helps...but I am never tacky and say that when they
tell me 'no, Mom I don't want to help', I only want it
to be a positive reinforcement. It is FUNNY to see
their faces when I ask them, they say 'no' and then
they suddenly remember that they are likely to get a
quarter and 'magically' change their mind--hehe!!

I have a cleanliness level I aspire to but I realize
that is MY thing, not theirs. I am a bit anal about
dirty dishes but that's because we get ants very
easily and I do the patrol to round them up 2x a day
and don't bitch about it. I also think of loading the
dishwasher as a personal puzzle challenge, I can fit
EVERYTHING in there....

I remake 'rescued' Barbie dolls with a tiny paintbrush
(my current manic hobby) or do precise ribbon
embroidery or 'go pleat something' when I feel that
picky Virgo urge coming on, I HAVE to or I will
nitpick on people...Carla is interested in the dolls
though and just completed her first one-of-a-kind
Faery, totally solo!



I almost ALWAYS have quarters for the vending machines
on purpose because my mom would not let me 'Waste
money on that crap' even if it was MY money. Last
week Carla bought ME a cool dragon temporary tattoo
with her own $ that she spent an hour hunting in
nickels and pennies and she put it on my shoulder for
me!! PLUS they are the LUCKIEST kids, they almost
ALWAYS find a vending machine that someone lost their
quarter in and they get something free, which tickles
them a BUNCH...where else can you get a grin like
that?!? It is MAGIC to be LUCKY at that age and get a
freebie! Carla is also naturally VERY good at that
'grabber' machine, with the claw, she can win
something almost every time. Last week it was a watch
and she turned immediately and gave it to Ted! We
have wacky photos from the 50 cent photo booth at the
mall on our fridge.

For a solid year I got my allowance every week, tied
to my chores which I always did. I immediately biked
to the Snappy Mart and got a Dr Pepper and a 3
Musketeers bar, to be eaten alone, before I got
home...my mother ALSO believed refined sugar made kids
hyper and caffeine stunted growth so we didn't get
much often. I can't even look at that candy bar these
days but I still LOVE Dr Pepper and will buy one, full
inflated price, from the Chevron fountain when I get
gas--hehe...and I may get another temp. tattoo from
the vending machine there next time too, nanner-nanner
to MY mom >:)

Kimontoya

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Tia Leschke

> We collectively decided to save some change in a
> milk jug for a while and when it got too heavy, we
> turned them in at the change machine and it wsa $33,
> enough for Peter Piper Pizza with LOTS of tokens!! The
> kids were amazed, pennies are NOT useless!

I save all pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters. They go into the bottom
of my purse when I get change, then into a jar when they get too heavy. I
usually end up filling 2 canning jars a year, and it works out to somewhere
around $200. Saved painlessly.

PLUS they are the LUCKIEST kids, they almost
> ALWAYS find a vending machine that someone lost their
> quarter in and they get something free, which tickles
> them a BUNCH...where else can you get a grin like
> that?!?

My kids figured out long ago that it's worth it to check the coin return on
phone booths and vending machines. They often find something.
Tia

"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
saftety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Ben Franklin
leschke@...

[email protected]

In a message dated 4/13/03 7:50:29 PM Eastern Daylight Time, leschke@...
writes:

> I save all pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. They go into the bottom
> of my purse when I get change, then into a jar when they get too heavy. I
> usually end up filling 2 canning jars a year, and it works out to somewhere
> around $200. Saved painlessly.
>
>

My husband puts them in a golf shoe, large feet LOL. When we are going on a
trip the boys roll them and we take them to the bank and that is their
spending money for the trip.

We don't use an allowance because we never have the cash on hand so what we
do it we do the bills together. The boys help if they want and usually do
for a while. Then we decide what we need to save for, vacation, deck, pool
supplies etc. After all that is done if there is money left they can get
something they want, a game they have been looking at or Yu Gi Oh cards. And
I get something I want, usually fabric. We also save out money for movies
and eating out etc. That way they know what is going on.
Pam G.


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Deborah Lewis

Dylan doesn't have chores. He didn't hire on here. It's not his
responsibility to keep the place up.<g>
I like it when I get help, he's kind and does nice things for us, but
it's not mandatory.

We buy him whatever he wants if it's within our means. So far he hasn't
asked for a helicopter or a Jaguar, so it's working happily for everyone.
I don't remember the last time he asked for anything, actually.

He gets paid once a month when his dad gets paid. He gets spending
money, like the rest of us and he gets his age each week. He's getting
forty dollars a month now. It turns out that's enough to get a new game
for Gameboy or Playstation or the computer, or enough for a few books at
the book store. It's also enough to put away and save for something
big, without it seeming to take an eternity.

When his dad isn't working we all forgo the extra spending.
(theoretically)

Deb L

Lisa M. C. Bentley

> We don't use an allowance because we never have the cash on hand ....

We don't usually have cash on hand either, so Zoe has a handmade
register (on a big envelope) with dates that she is supposed to get
money from us and we mark them off when we do have cash on hand. She
puts the money in the envelope and always know exactly how much is in it
without having to count it (because of the register). She hasn't yet
ever wanted to take money out and about with us, so if she wants to buy
anything with "her own money", I buy it and we reconcile with her
register when we get home.

-Lisa in AZ

Mary

The only one that has a chore here, beside me, is Tara. She is in charge of
the litter box. It's automatic so she just has to empty the reservoir. She
does that every other day. I have to remind her. It's the only thing I don't
do for her unless she's sick. It was a deal to have the two cats we have.
It's not my fault one is 18lbs, poops a lot and hates her!!

Aside from that, no chores. I ask the kids to put away their clothes after I
wash them. Sometimes I just do it myself. There is no garbage duty, making
beds, setting tables or anything like that. The kids help clean up. "I" need
to have the house tidy and the help with no problem.

Tara doesn't get an allowance since she started to work. Before that she
did. The kids all get allowance based on nothing really. Joseph and Sierra
get spending money every week. I put money away every week for the 3
youngest to put in their bank account. That money doesn't get touched. The
money they get weekly is for whatever they want. We buy all their clothes,
food goodies, arts and crafts stuff and toys. The money they get each week
usually goes for Yu Gi Oh cards or some little play thing they want. All big
stuff we buy. Gameboy and playstation games and videos and such. Whatever
they really need, and that means something cool to even play with we take
care of. The few dollars a week they get is more than enough to cover their
whims.

Mary B

Shyrley

Deborah Lewis wrote:

> Dylan doesn't have chores. He didn't hire on here. It's not his
> responsibility to keep the place up.<g>
> I like it when I get help, he's kind and does nice things for us, but
> it's not mandatory.
>

Same here. Sometimes I ask them to help with putting the dishes away but they are free to say no. Sometimes they go do it for me. Sometimes they do nothing, sometimes I come downstairs to find they've
vaccuumed (they're 10, 9 and 7).
It works in reverse too. The kids will ask me to help with their bedrooms and I'll give them a hand if I'm not doing anything.
All this shocks my mother who thinks kids MUST do chores :-)

As for money, theoretically they get $2 a week each (we are a bit challeneged in the financial department) but if they want something and I have spare cash then I buy it. The other day Rhodri wanted a
D&D manual. It was $30. I didn't think I had the cash so we had to leave the comic shop with him with a long face. After I went to the store I found I had $25 spare so we searched the house and car and
found enough change to make up the rest and went and bought the book. No problem.
Another thing my ma would diagree with. Its 'spoiling' apparently. She thinks that when a child asks for anything, the child must wait a few weeks on principle so that the child will 'appreciate' the
object.

Shyrley


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