Children’s Chores — How Do You Share The Workload?

Last night my kids surprised me by asking my wife if they could start doing chores around the house.  Really?  Well….kind of.

They want to start earning an allowance to have a little extra spending money.  I thought it would be a great opportunity for them to start learning the value of a dollar and in doing a little work.  But what’s the best way to do it?

The way I see it, there are a couple different ways I could go about it.

1.  We are a family and we all share the work load.  Our job as parents is to provide for our children so if they need anything, we get it for them.  Anything else they have to wait for birthdays or Christmas. (No allowance)
2. Give a list of chores that need to be done by each child every week.  If they complete that list, they get a certain amount of money at the end of the week.  (Kind of like a salary)
3. Give a list of chores that have to be done in the house and a price next to each job.  If they do those jobs, they get paid that money.  The more jobs they do, the more they make.  (Kind of like an hourly job where you work more hours, you get more money)
4. Don’t make them work at all.  They’re kids.  Let them be kids.

What works in your house?