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Whats a fair price to pay a kid to do jobs around the house?

3K views 44 replies 36 participants last post by  ladunnkity 
#1 ·
I have two boys 12 & 16 years old. the older one is a good worker who more or less stays on task well. the younger boy is a bit willy nilly about tasks and is much less adept at doing things for lack of experience. how should I base the scale of pay between them?
 
#14 ·
X2
However when they do more work than I would expect them to do I would throw them a few dollars or make sure we did something fun to show my appreciation. (of course it was usually something fun for me as well:teehee:).
 
#4 ·
My parents never paid me to do anything , your kids are lucky.

But , I had friends when I was around 16 who usually got between $50-$100 a week depending on what they had to do and how often they did the work. They had to chop wood and do mostly farm work.
 
#12 ·
I have 13, 15 and 17 living with me. They do the garden, mow lawn, rake leaves, trash, shovel snow, dishes, their laundry and help clean the house, wash cars and one time - the roof.

I don't pay them and they don't get allowance. I have on several instances outside of birthdays and xmas bought them more expensive items like ipods or computer crap to show appreciation for them doing their part helping the house.
 
#13 ·
What sorts of jobs?

When I was 16 my dad told me if I wanted to get payed to work around the house I would have to pay rent and for my dinner... this was the summer we put a 40'x60' deck and retaining wall in the yard I think we used 10-12 pallets of block for the wall. Shit half the time I did construction I did not get payed, but I did not have a cell phone bill to pay and He payed for my jeep until I was 18.
 
#15 ·
I pay for what it is worth to me, but I am cheap too. A can of Pepsi to clean the house. 20 minutes of TracPhone time to build me some shelves. Nothing to do yard work. $100 to detail the 4 vehicles I own. And if your attitude is good while your doing the job, maybe a slushie from the gas station or a taco from Taco Bell. Keeping them guessing at the pay scale helps them to stay on task. Sometimes I tell them I will pay, but then hold out on the $$$ for several weeks. Preps them for disapointment, and reality when they get to the real world.
 
#20 ·
:d:

When I was going to school, I got $10 / week, and was expected to buy my school lunch with that. I usually skipped lunch and used the money to buy other stuff (since I would end up with about $3 after buying lunch for the week).

Taking into account that I graduated HS in 1987, I used the money I saved to cover the $$$ premium of getting brand name clothes over what my mom would buy for me - i.e. if JCP plain pocket jeans were $15 and Levi Jeans were $30, I could have the Levis only if I paid the difference ($15).

Same thing for hi-tops :teehee:
 
#21 ·
When I was growing up my payment for working around the house was my old man not beating my a$$ for 1 more day!
 
#24 ·
Make them contribute to the household by doing chores. Throw them a few bucks here and there so they can have some spending money.

Don't let them associate contributing to the running of the house to income. If you do, it will be like pulling teeth to get them to do something if they don't need money.
 
#26 ·
:thumb:

i have 4 kids ages 15-21 and that is what i do. they appreciate the cash when you give it to them and the chores get done (most of the time) without expecting anything in return.
none of them have jobs so for now i am supporting them so i think that is enough without also paying them to help out around the house.
 
#30 ·
I am 16, and my brothers are 12 and 14. We don't get paid allowance, and we do some stuff around the house i.e. cut the grass, take out the trash, and empty and fill the dishwasher. My parents paid for my truck and they are currently paying for gas and insurance until I get a job, which I then plan on paying back some of it to them. They give me money here and there if I need it. They are not in the best financial situation either, but they do what they can. My brothers get money here and there if they need it, but I usually get more because I am the oldest and do the most around the house compared to them.
 
#32 ·
only paid our kids for good Grades, so much for A's etc. Chores around the house I did not get paid for why should they? They lived there also.

I would buy them things they wanted if they did things with out being asked. Cool clothing, or let them have friends over if they had there rooms clean etc.
 
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