Here's How Much You Should Really Give Your Kids For An Allowance

When raising children, you're constantly asking yourself all manner of questions — and sometimes second-guessing yourself. From bedtimes to screen time to whether that TV show all of their friends are watching is age-appropriate, it can feel like you're always making decisions about something or other (and there's always the well-meaning but nonetheless mildly annoying advice from non-parents too).

One such debate that continues to rage centers around the issue of allowance, which can be a real minefield. It might feel like expectations have risen since your parents gave you an allowance, and everyone seems to give their kids a different amount, but how much should you actually be giving out as allowance? Does it depend on how many chores your children do, and do you take any off for bad behavior as a punishment? No matter your strategy when it comes to giving your kids an allowance, here's how much you should really be giving them — and how you should be giving it.

Per MarketWatch, the average allowance sits at $30/week, and parents expect children to complete just over five hours' worth of chores for their money. While $30, or $120 per month, might be the average, Falco Wealth President Mike Falco suggests that you should give your child $1 per year of age each week. Hence, an 8-year-old would get $8 a week, or $32 a month, while a 16-year-old would receive double that at $16 per week, or $64 per month — and older children would of course have the opportunity to supplement their allowance with a part-time job. This rough guideline of $1 per week per year of age is echoed by Forbes and Scholastic.

Ultimately, the way you give out their allowance may be more important than the amount. Many parents start with an allowance later on in childhood, when kids usually begin to understand the concept of money — sometimes by kindergarten age. A small allowance is a great way to teach them the value of money, but you might also want to encourage your kids to save some of their allowance too. Likewise, you may not want to tie all of your child's allowance to chores — they should realize that joining in with chores is part of family life. You don't want them to stop doing chores if they feel they've gotten enough money together. On that topic, there are definitely pros and cons to tying allowance to chores (via Parents).