Last night I was watching an episode of "Wife Swap" with my kids (I already shocked someone I know when they found out my girls and I was "The Bachelorette"; I guess we perceived as devout Catholics are thought to sit at home, pray the rosary, and only watch EWTN - the Catholic network).
The two families were the normal polar opposites: a stay at home, fundamental Christian, homeschooling mother of eight and a self indulged, over spending, non-attentive wife and mother of three. All in all, nice women who probably learned from the experience.
Anyhow, the point that garnered a lot of lively discussion between my kids was the fact that the homeschooling family paid their children an allowance and THEN made them pay taxes on it (by returning it to the parents to go toward household expenses). This outraged the "other" mother.
One of my children thought it was the same as charging minor children rent, which a parent shouldn't do until they are older and working.
Another of my children thought it was a good idea because in reality you do pay taxes on your earnings.
This family also incorporated the standard allotment of saving/spending/giving and then the taxes portion.
My child who is a natural born saver (saving towards a goal and then spending once he reaches the goal) said sadly, "Think about how long it would take to save up for something big ... like Harry Potter's Hogwarts or an i-pod ... " These were his two previous large purchases.
As a parent, I'm fine with the save/spend/give, but I'm stuck on the taxes portion. What do you think? Extreme? Reality-check?
What is your opinion of this?
July 26th, 2012 at 01:34 pm
July 26th, 2012 at 01:51 pm 1343310707
BUT, on the flip side it just makes things complicated so not sure I really see the point. Have them get a job at 15 or 16 - then the tax thing gets learned. The thing is once you get a regular job it is usually a lot higher paying, so I think *that* is a good time to introduce taxes. If you don't expect your kids to ever get a real job until they graduate college, then I think the tax thing is a good idea. I don't know who has thought about this at all who wouldn't expect their kids to work *much* younger (than say 25). Which maybe makes this whole point moot.
Finally, allowances tend to be on an "as needed basis" plus a little extra to teach savings skills. If you take taxes out you'd probably also want to pay them more gross. It's all on a much smaller scale than the real world is going to be. So if I felt the need to do the tax thing, I'd raise my kids' allowances accordingly.
July 26th, 2012 at 02:15 pm 1343312116
July 26th, 2012 at 02:47 pm 1343314024
July 26th, 2012 at 03:16 pm 1343315781
July 26th, 2012 at 03:28 pm 1343316504
We run our house similar to what Ceejay said. Everyone helps out and everyone gets a little spending money. Not a ton, a little. Sometimes we bribe a kid to get a little extra work. They like the cash, we like the jobs getting done.
Also, my kids understand about household expenses. We discuss those expenses, so everyone is aware of them. We encourage children to take short showers so we can save on utilities and use the money for vacation. But I would NEVER make them contribute in any way. My job as a parent (among other things) is to provide a save place and the things my children need. Charge them? No. I agree, it seems a little like "rent."
And also... I don't know the ages of the children, but there are things that children are unable to intellectually process until they reach a certain developmental stage. I doubt that they truly understand the idea of taxes. And is this just taking away a piece of their childhood? I might argue yes.
But isn't it great that in this world we can all make our own parenting and money decisions?!
July 26th, 2012 at 03:30 pm 1343316625
July 26th, 2012 at 04:51 pm 1343321513
July 26th, 2012 at 06:06 pm 1343325961
I think it is a reasonable lesson for older children, but it says a NOVEL about the parent.