MOMS TALK: What Should we do about an Allowance?

We all love to teach our kids some discipline around the house, and what better way than with some chores? Eventually, though, our boys and girls are going to want something in return.

How much is enough to pay them? And how long should we wait before doing so? In this week's Moms Talk we give you some of our best tips, and want to hear yours as well. Join the conversation in the comments section.

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: As the parent of a pre-schooler, we are just starting to brooch the allowance subject. Our oldest has recently discovered super-heroes and is intent on collecting as many as he can.  He's excited to go to the store and pick out the latest addition to his personal justice league and anxious to get to the checkout counter to "pay" for his treasure. It seems the perfect opportunity to introduce the basic concepts of money management and saving.

So now I need to get started and there are many questions. How much? How often? Tied to chores? Based on some great articles found at www.kidsmoney.org I'm leaning toward a dollar for each year of age paid weekly or in my case $5/week. Seems fair.  Most action figures run a little less than $10 meaning he'll need to learn to wait and save for at least two weeks. Not long in real life but an eternity for the under 6 set.

Now I was all set to tie this new found allowance to our also new found chore chart but based on my research I'm not rethinking that strategy.  Most of the experts seem to prefer a fixed amount with the opportunity to earn more money for performing chores above and beyond the basic expectations for continued good standing in the family unit. So for now I think I'll stick with stickers on the chore chart and starting doling out the allowance independently.

This is all a new experiment at our house so I would love to hear from some of you who have been there and done that.  Perhaps we'll revisit this topic in a few months with an update on how things have worked out.

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Karen Jacobs is the owner of  on Main Street. She lives in Bel Air with her husband and two young children.

Jennifer Vido is a published author and a member of the Harford  County Public Libraries Board of Trustees. She lives in Bel Air with her husband and two children.

 is also a local resident, and the founder of the True Housewives. She is married with a teenage step-daughter, Brianna, who has Down syndrome.

Questions? Suggestions? Send an e-mail to PatchMoms@GoogleGroups.com.