‘I Never Got an Allowance!’ That’s Fine, But There’s Nothing Wrong With It

If you're trying to win a parenting award, here ya go. Congrats. Now, let's talk constructively about kids' allowance.

An article came out this week stating that the national average for weekly kids' allowances is up to $30, so we were curious as to what YOU are paying YOUR kids.

The comments were...surprising. Take a look below for yourselves.

To each his own, of course. Don't want to or can't afford to give your kid(s) an allowance? Then don't do it. But are those of us who DO give our kids an allowance WRONG for doing so?

No, and here's why.

Why are you at work right now? Do you LOVE what you do? I do, and that's great. But overall, WHY do we go to work? For a paycheck. It's an incentive. Trust me, there is nothing other than money or a house fire that could get me out of bed at 4:30 AM every day.

My upbringing was a bit unique; my mom was disabled, so I was doing laundry by the time I was in third grade. However, my parents still gave my sister and I $10 a week for our chores.

It gave me a sense of entrepreneurship. I liked making my own money; once I realized how good it felt, I started my own lemonade stands. I started babysitting. The day I turned 16, I got my first job. And I've been working ever since.

A lot of that time, I've worked more than one job. In fact, I can't really remember a time that I haven't worked two jobs. In college, I worked at a zoo during the summer and at the mall during the winter. I also taught dance and judged high school forensics meets.

As an adult, I've worked in morning radio as my career but I've been teaching dance on the side since 2008. It's just what I do, and I attribute that drive to receiving an allowance as a kid.

Again, do what you want. I'm sure that all the people who didn't get an allowance as kids are productive members of society as adults, but don't downplay the practice of giving kids an allowance for chores.

Our son makes his bed every day, cleans up his messes, walks the dog, takes out the trash and helps with yard work when needed. In return, he gets $20 per week. He just bought himself a leather jacket from a thrift store with his own money, and that's something I feel great about as a parent.

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