The Weekly Allowance, Advantages And Disadvantages
Among the values we should cultivate in our children, after love, the most important is responsibility. One way to do this is to teach them how to manage their money by paying a weekly allowance; both to reward them for a job they’ve done and to encourage them to save.
However, this is a delicate issue, as it can bring results for or against their attitudes in the future. The economic situation of the family nucleus must also be taken into account.
From what age is it appropriate to give our children an allowance?
Typically, children begin to deal with simple math operations, such as addition and subtraction, between the ages of five and seven. Consequently, they also begin to have contact with money, knowing its value and denomination.
In this way, they already learn to manage information about the cost of small things and how they can be acquired. That way, they can start buying some candy or candy on their own and learn how to do shopping calculations without needing help.
Teach children to distribute their allowance
We must give our children freedom. However, the younger they are, the more important it is to have control over the destination of the allowance. For those of us who already have children and have started giving them weekly allowances, we’ve happened to spend it all on candy the same day they got it.
This is the right time to start instilling in children the notion of saving and telling them how to distribute the money they receive. For example, if they like a toy, we could give them the tools so they can buy their candy and save money to buy the toy they like so much.
It is very important to be present and monitor how they deal with this situation; you have to guide them so they don’t make mistakes.
Advantages of weekly allowance
1.- Teaches you how to save money
A first and important advantage of the weekly allowance is that, through this incentive, we will teach children to save, saving part of the weekly allowance and adding more money little by little. Knowing how to save and be prevented is something they need to learn; especially if they want to buy a toy or something else.
2.- Shows the value of things
In addition, they will come to know the sense of responsibility and learn to value what they have. They will know that through work they can obtain an economic benefit.
In the long run, they will be responsible with their jobs or other activities that support their finances as adults. Furthermore, they will put logic into practice along with mental calculation when they think about how much money they need to acquire what they like.
3.- It serves as an incentive to collaborate at home
The weekly allowance or monthly allowance will become an incentive for them to do their homework. Remember that we must assign these tasks according to the child’s age.
By receiving money from us, they too can learn how to be entrepreneurs and multiply their income. This initiative can be their own or suggested by the parents.
Disadvantages of weekly allowance
1.- It can arouse a feeling of ambition
At the other extreme, children may begin to show signs of ambition ; they will want to receive more and more. They may also think that getting good grades or helping with housework is just about getting their allowance.
2.- Feeling that it’s easy money
Children may find this incentive easy money and will always be within their reach. Therefore, they may think that giving money is a parent’s obligation and, as stated above, it all depends on the economic condition of each family.
Therefore, it is important to know how much money will be given to our children ; the best way to do this is to increase the amount progressively as the child thinks and manages that income. We must never put more money into our children’s hands than they can handle.
Starting to give our children a weekly allowance is a very important issue and we shouldn’t make this decision in any way. In general, each child will show signs of maturity and it will be up to the parents to determine whether they have the capacity to manage it or not. Remember that weekly allowance is a double-edged sword: we must know how to manage it to help our children.
