To Pay or Not to Pay: That is the Question

Well, as we all start the trickle back to school lots of things at home will be changing. We will get back into our routines, watch the clock a little better for dinner time, bedtime, shower time, etc., and at my house, we will be watching the chore list a little better as well!

During the summer we love to travel, take weekend getaways in our camper, and have as many day outings as possible. My kids visit grandparents, spend tons of time with friends, stay up late and sleep in! We don’t have 3 meals a day, we don’t go to bed before 10 and we don’t consult the chore list as to what needs to be done during the week!

However, I do think as parents we all want to teach some structure at home so, although we get super lax during the summer, we try to stay on track during the school year (the best we can 😉)

At our house, the kids are expected to do more than most, I think.

I have 2 boys and they are expected to pull their weight when it comes to house upkeep. Being as busy as we are- my husband has a full-time job, I own 3 businesses, the kids play sports, we’re involved at our church and all 4 grandparents live 3+ hours away from us so we do a lot of road trips- I have been temped SO MANY times to get a housekeeper. This is an expense I really don’t feel comfortable having though, and when I think about a cleaning person picking up my boy’s rooms instead of them, I cringe. Honestly, it doesn’t take them that long to clean things up and if they didn’t have that task, what would they be doing? I can tell you…on a screen somewhere!

So, last year when we moved into a house that was significantly larger than the one we came from, I called a family meeting. I told the boys, I needed them to help me around the house and I meant big time! I didn’t want to pay a cleaning lady to come to the house when I knew that there were valuable lessons to be learned in every little task that needed to be done. So, we made a list of things that the kids could help me with:

Once a month:
-Strip their beds and wash their sheets
-Clean their rooms:
Pick up
Dust
Vacuum
-Clean all bathrooms in the house:
Scrub shower, toilet, sink, countertop, cabinets
Dust
Vacuum and mop
Clean the mirror
-Dust Baseboards all over the house

Once a week:
-Tidy up their rooms
-Do their laundry
-Tidy bathrooms
-Clean the Playroom

If you take nothing from this newsletter, take this: Your kids should be doing your BASEBOARDS!! You can thank me later!

Now, to put this into perspective, my kids are 7 and 10. They have been doing these tasks regularly and well since they were 9 and 6. And I use the term ‘well’ loosely! However, they do know how to do these things and that makes me proud! I taught them exactly what I expect of them. The first couple of times they had to do these things on their own, I coached them the whole way. I gave them specific tasks to do, I told them where to put everything, and when they were done, I asked them to step back and admire their work. I pointed out to them,”See how much better the bed looks when all the toys are out from underneath it?” “See how nice the trucks look when they are all on the shelf?” and so on. When they were done, they knew what I expected of them and they knew how I wanted them to do it. Now that they do their chores independently, sure, there's room for improvement, but their hard work deserves recognition. I critique sometimes but I always tell them they did a good job and thank them for being helpful.

But, that’s the only payment they get from me…appreciation!

As a mom, and just someone who lives in a house in general, I don’t get paid to do my everyday tasks. When kids move out on their own, they will not get paid to do their everyday tasks either so my thought is, ” Why confuse them?!”
 
In my opinion, having spaces to call our own, especially when we own them, like our houses, is something that we should be proud of. Owning things takes work, maintenance, and commitment; AND we have to pay to live there, not the other way around. I want my boys to know that everyday responsibilities are just that – responsibilities. Our children are part of the family, and taking care of our home is a badge of honor. I hope they are learning that pride comes from preserving their space, without expecting a financial reward.

So, how do my kids make money?!

As a serial entrepreneur, I'm all about cultivating creativity and innovation. I want my kiddos to explore outside the norm. Yes, they can earn a little extra for extraordinary efforts like window cleaning and lawn mowing at home. But more than that, I want to nurture their entrepreneurial spirit. I want to help them turn passions into profit, I want to guide them toward financial independence and ownership. My goal is to help them figure out ways to make money and turn ideas into businesses so that they never really struggle when it comes to income or finances. If they want to have typical jobs when they get older, that is completely fine and actually encouraged in some stages of life but I also want them to always have something to call their own. Something to fall back on, something to depend on, and something that they can learn from.

Currently, my oldest makes most of his income from grass cutting and doing little odd jobs for us and our neighbors and my youngest has decided he would like to start selling some plants to make a little bit of money! LOVE IT!!!

There are so many things kids can help with and services they can offer, encourage them!

Teaching Responsibility, One Chore at a Time

At the heart of it all, we're trying to nurture responsibility – a foundation for successful money management. Whether it's chores or building their mini-empires, these life skills can help shape them into future leaders, dreamers, and unstoppable doers.

So, I encourage you to set some responsibilities for your kids that they do not get paid for. Let them know what is expected of them and give them the tools and knowledge to get those tasks done. These actions can teach them responsibility, accountability, and pride. Then, figure out some other tasks that they can choose to get paid to do - help them start their little business, no matter how small, and watch them grow!

Have a happy weekend!