This month we thought it was time to give Henry an allowance.  He is four and a half and he has a basic understanding of numbers.  We decided to give it to him on the day we get our paycheck (once a month).  We gave him a total of $6 : $1 to give, $1 to save, $4 to do with what he wants.  I realize we could do the whole 10% save/give thing, but I didn't want to have to break things down into coins. Making sure I have six dollar bills will be enough.  We plan to keep the $1 give/save the same until he is 10, and can possibly get some understanding of percentages.


We decided that we were not going to tie his base allowance to chores.  There are things around the house that we expect him to do because he is a part of our family: pick up toys, clean up messes he's made to the best of his ability, put his dishes in the sink or dishwasher, and put his clean laundry away. He will get the allowance no matter his performance is on the expected tasks we have for him right now.  We will also give him the opportunity to earn more money by doing other things: cleaning out the car, picking up sticks in the yard, etc.



He's already asked when he gets more money.  I realize that a month is a long time for him, but I also don't think giving a dollar a week is the best for him either.  Four dollars isn't much.  He'll probably continue to buy little trinket things for a while, since that's all he can afford, but that's how he will learn.  He loves watching You Tube toy reviews and talks about wanting things he sees on there sometimes.  It'll be interesting to see when he starts to save his spending money over a couple months to get something larger.  I don't expect it to happen any time soon, but we'll keep having conversations with him about it.

So, that's how we're doing allowance, at least how we're starting out anyways.  Do you give your kiddos allowance?  What age do you think is a good age to start?  How much? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!