Parent coach has promising reason why kids’ allowances and chores should be kept separate

It is a very common habit among parents to reward kids for doing certain chores with their allowances. Completing a task is often followed by giving cash or gifts to kids as a method to instill the habit of getting work done from a young age. Parenting coach Lisa Bunnage (@bratbustersparenting) shared her insight on the said topic and explained why this habit might not be the best for kids growing up. The woman pointed out that while it is great to reinforce good habits, kids shouldn’t get the idea that they will be rewarded for everything, especially in today's economy. Parents seem to think she had a noteworthy point. 

“You don't give an allowance for doing chores because you want them to understand that chores are just something that you should do,” the parenting coach noted. She added that chores are something kids must learn to do as a way of contributing to the home. “You gotta clean up after yourself. Put your dirty clothes in the hamper. I would never pay for that; that's just something you should do,” she remarked. The woman added that allowances are designed for a different purpose altogether. “Allowance is something all children deserve to learn how to manage and spend money responsibly,” Bunnage noted.

She explained that she began giving her kids allowances at the early age of 3 so they learned about money management. She’d call it “mom’s banking time” where she and her two kids would figure out the income, expenses, balance and so on. The mom pointed out that she would never give them the cash in hand but would only keep them updated about the money they’ve got. “You never give them any cash and every time they want to spend money, I had a say in what they bought... they couldn't just take out $100 and buy candy,” the coach explained. She’d have her kids discuss with her what they wanted and she would explain whether they could afford it per their allowances.

"Okay, that's $40, so your balance is going to go down by $40,” she would explain to her kids. Bunnage noted that this idea helped them think about their spending and even learn to save in the bargain. “Oftentimes they'd (the kids) say, ‘Oh, never mind,’ or sometimes, they might say, ‘Yeah, I do want to do that. I do want to buy it,'” the coach shared. It helped her kids learn “conscious spending,” instead of “blowing up their money.”

The mom highlighted that this method also helped her kids learn to get part-time jobs and manage money by the age of 15. “They both learned to be good with money and how to respect and understand money from a young age,” she added. Parents appreciated the method as it instilled good practices and morals in kids. @niicole.001 said, “My 7-year-old asked if he’d get paid to clean his room. I said, ‘No, you will get paid if you want to clean my room.’” @canadiantruckergirl added, “I don’t believe in chores. We call them daily routines because it’s something we have to do.”

You can follow Lisa Bunnage (@bratbustersparenting) on TikTok for more content on parenting.