Give your Child an Allowance: For What Reason?

            Let's face it. Allowances will only work one way or the other: give your child an allowance as a reward for good behavior and give your child an allowance to teach them to be financially responsible. Though, parents who give children money as a reward for good behavior tend to bump into a lot of behavioral problems down the road.  Allowances should be used to teach kids to be financially responsible and not depend on money as a promotion for a good demeanor. There is an advantage of showing kids financial skills when they are at a young age, such that when they reach adult hood they will have little problem dealing with their money. This paper will state the benefits of giving allowances as a financial lesson and how it should be carried out.

            Not all parents give allowances to teach good money habits. Instead, money is used as a reward to bolster favorable behavior. Immediately, there is a problem with that method. By giving a child money, there is no guarantee he or she will change their bad behavior over night. Over time, that method will induce the child to beg for more money after they have finished frivoling away the money they once had. In reality, once you used up all your money, you cannot just ask for more. Moreover, it will be blinding children from knowing the difference between wants and needs once they spend their money towards consuming goods.  That can cause children to develop bad financial habits. A good way to get rid of bad behavior and get good behavior out of it, is give a child consequences when they act out. So, in the future, they will be discouraged from practicing bad behavior.

            Giving money as a financial test works wonders on children. Children will know how to budget their money, making them aware of how much their spending and realizing when they need to stop, which is a good habit as a future adult. Furthermore, they will develop the tendency to save. And when that happens, they will either have more money than they originally had and are able to buy more expensive items, such as the PS3 or they will continue to save until they have reached a desirable amount. Parents will not monitor every single thing their child does. So, this will be preparing them for any money situation they might face. Overall, it will teach them to be financially responsible.  

            Knowing when to give a child independence may seem difficult, but financial wise it is helpful. It does not mean that a parent should let the child have utter control of what they buy. Rather, the parent will be monitoring what the child buys. For instance, a child goes shopping with his or her parent and they are given money to spend, it is important for  the parent to make sure their child is not buy anything dangerous or inappropriate. This will help parents carry out the next step after giving the money.

            Inescapably, allowances should be used for financial responsibility and not given as a reward factor for it will only promote bad spending. In short, all children should be given an allowance to see if they can stand on their own financially or if they need help.