I struggled a lot with household chores for the kids, allowances and money. I read a few parenting books about allowances and listened to some parenting experts, hoping to land on something that felt right for my house and kids. (Here's a book on that subject I didn't agree with.)
But with quarantine and everyone being HOME, I really had to find something that would work. Because if it was just ME AND DAVID putting away dishes every day, I was going to lose it.
For a few years, we've been working on this clipboard of chores, where I had listed chores and how much they paid out, but there was room to add and negotiate price. Alice got especially good a bartering. And I was good about paying immediately for awhile, but eventually we started to list "I Owe Yous" to the girls and it got a little meaningless. As you know, I'm not good with consistency.
But while home, we figured out if we added up the money on the chalkboard, we could keep track of what they were earning. And when they wanted to buy something (online, mostly, we weren't leaving the house), they'd have to subtract it off the blackboard.
Hence: Blackboard Money.
Here's what my blackboard looks like. Work for Hire and the little circles of what we owe each. It's constantly being erased to add or subtract.
Two things we/they quickly learned:
The Work for Hire is paying out REALLY WELL this year. Emptying the dishwasher is $10! So is picking up dog poo in the backyard. You could make A LOT of money quickly. And for awhile, they raced to get to $100. Lately, it's when they want something, they'll do a bunch of chores because they each desire a cushion in their accounts. "This costs $40 but that would only leave me with $20 of blackboard money and that's not enough."
They're also figuring the meaning of the price of something, and worth. In one recent online shopping session, Alice thought she liked this lip balm holder (really?!) but realized it was $10 so just not worth it. We also have conversations about what I'll buy for them (Moms buy clothes and other necessities) and what they have to use their blackboard money on. Common example: "will you buy it for me?" to "no, but you can use your blackboard money." "Oh, I guess I don't want it that bad."
And when things arrive in the mail that they spent the money on, it's definitely more important. They're also doing a lot of comparison shopping and listening to experts. It's interesting to watch this unfold.
Is it the BEST way to deal with allowance and family chores? NOPE. I've read and heard a lot of better advice, etc. And maybe if we started with younger kiddos or if I was a different mom, it would be a lot different. But we all parent in our own way and this is what is currently working for us.
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