Do You Give Your Child An Allowance [Poll]

The economy is terrible right now, but you would never know according to a recent article that said children are getting an average allowance of $65 a month to spend as they wish...and that is on top of all of the things parents already buy. Only one percent of parents say their kids put any of that into savings. You can almost make a case for being a kid is pretty lucrative anymore. When I was a kid, I got $1 a week as an allowance, if of course I did the chores I was supposed to do and keeping my room clean was not one of those chores because that was expected. My mother would get so frustrated because I just couldn't wait to spend that dollar. My mother would try and convince me to save my allowance, then after a couple of months I would have a lot more money to do what I wanted because even back then, a dollar didn't go very far. My mother was very good with money and very open about it, saying we just simply couldn't afford something.

Being a divorced father, I don't give my boys an allowance per se, but I will occasionally give them a few bucks to spend as they please. I am amazed at how much I sound like my mother, encouraging them to put that money away and wait until they have a little savings built up instead of spending it right away.

Many parents I know do not believe in allowances for kids and some just simply cannot afford it...times are tough and way too many parents today are doing everything they can just to put food on the table and pay the bills.

Children today really do need to learn the value of a dollar and it's never too early to start teaching them. Once they understand what it means to need or want money, they are ready for that conversation. Some parents will give their kids money for doing well in school instead of an allowance and others use grades as way to bonus their kids on top of their allowance.

Most parents stress saving to their children, but saving anymore, even for adults is challenging. Again the average kid today gets about $65 a month and even though that might seem like a lot, keep in mind a movie ticket is upwards of $8, video games are about 50-bucks apiece and a new CD or download is about $10 and if your kid wants to buy popcorn at the movie they are using their allowance for....good luck with that....don't be surprised if they ask for a raise.