This is true - I started preschool when I  was 3 years old.  I had great behavior.   We moved to Utah just so I could start kindegarden at the age of four and at that age I knew about money.   If I were you I'd wait to start an allowance and begin allowing responsibilities with good praise.  I feel that it is best to recieve praise so they can feel appreciated when a job is done.  I didn't recieve an allowance until I was eight (that is when I recived my Social Security Card.  I recieved thirty five dollars a week.

E-

You probably know this, but I found that my kids really enjoyed doing absolutely anything to help if it was made to seem important and grownup, and if you are involved as well.They feel that it is you and them doing something Big together! My 2 yearold loves to fetch me things for his nappy change; my four year old helps set the table for dinner and this practises her counting as well as her organisational skills. At four, they can pick up their clothes and fold them (sort of!) and put clothes that need washing into the right place. They can get themselves ready to go out if you make sure their coats are on a low hanger, and of course do up their zips for them! They can sort their toys (cars in one box, action figures in another etc) which is a great introduction to mathematical skills. If they have duvets they can have a go at making beds in the morning, and perhaps grate cheese for sandwiches at lunchtime! As long as they feel they are being a Big Help they will look for ways to help you out (altho sometimes this can slow you down!!) They seem to be interested in money very early on, and all the discussion about pocketmoney can really engage them in mathematical skills at a basic level. Can only be a good thing surely, but the £££ is not going to mean as much as your appreciation and involvement in what they do.

I've actually read in several places (and I agree with it) that giving an allowance as a reward for doing chores is a big mistake. It sends the message to the kids that the cleaning is not really their responsibility so they have to be compensated for it... as if it's a job or something and as long as they are willing to give up that day's pay they can call in sick (not do their chores). They suggested that keeping the house in order is a family responsibility and if they learn that from a young age, there won't be any expectations regarding any compensation for doing housework.

They suggested if you want to implement an allowance that it shouldn't be determined by how much work your child does around the house... to keep the two completely separate. When we got money when we were younger (and it wasn't often) it was for extremely good behavior or going above and beyond our normal responsibilities around the house (like taking it upon ourselves to clean out the garage or doing a siblings chores because they wouldn't do it).

If you want to teach your son about the value of money, maybe instead of just giving him handouts or rewarding him for something he should be doing anyway, you can start helping him develop an entrepreneurial mindset at a young age. I'm homeschooling my daughter and I want to start teaching her from a young age what it means to run a business and the responsibility of handling money that is made from the business. But I don't plan to start doing anything like this until she is at least 5 or 6 and has a better grasp on how the whole money thing works.

I think at age 4 they really don't understand the concept of money. Your best bet... if you want to offer a special treat for being good and helping out... is taking them to the park for a picnic, a movie, or someplace else they'll enjoy. That will have more value to them than money and they'll then relate being able to do fun things with being helpful, instead of just getting paid to do it.

Oh they also suggest to teach a young child the concept of how money works and the fact that they don't get something for nothing, whenever you're buying them a treat at the store, rather than paying for it yourself, pay for all the other items and then let them pay for their treat separately. It instills in their minds that these treats just don't pop out of the woodworks for them... they actually have to give something in exchange for it. Once they understand this concept, then they can start learning that money doesn't come out of thin air either... it has to be earned.

We've been doing this with my daughter since she was two and I think she's starting to get it now. For a while she didn't want to part with the money (she liked playing with coins). You could see it was a struggle in her mind to let go of the money in exchange for something else that she wanted. It took a while and a lot of tears for her to begin understanding that in order to get something, she had to let go of something else... but I think it's a good lesson for them to learn. We never forced her to actually make the purchase, though... she had to choose between the coins and the treat.

I never had this growing up and nor did my hubby so we wanted to do this with our kids as well.

What we do (my kids are 4 and 6) is they have a few chores that they have to do, ie keep room clean, clothes out in the basket to be washed, dishes in the sink or rinsed and in the dish washer and or put dishes away.

now if they do this which they mostly do we put $10 a fortnight into their account they have which is for when they are older. they can also have a lolly or treat a week if they have done the right thing. With the money thing and saving we do this cause we dont feel that a 4 year old and a 6 year old will know what to do with money and will just want to spend it, My son has realised to a extent that if he works really hard and does the right thing that after so many months there is enough money to buy him say a hot wheels track (he is autistic and obsessed with cars).

as for a reward chart give it a try, personally it didnt work for us here. I put the whole house on it and yeah it was a complete flop. LOL

good luck

G'day Phil13

I have a chart up on the fridge for my 2 littlies (6 & 7) with a range of jobs, such as doing their homework, reading an extra book, eating all their school lunch, putting dishes back to the kitchen after meals, putting their dirty clothes in the dirty clothes basket at night, picking up toys, pyjamas back on the bed every morning and so forth. They get a tick on the chart each time they complete a job. Each job is only worth a few cents, but if they do everything it adds up to about $2 per week. In addition I have a space worth .30c for if they do something especially extraordinarily good - note this can also be a minus if they are outrageously bad too...

When I get a job and the jobs get larger as they get older, of course the amounts per job will rise. On payday they work out how much they've earned (good for addition and multiplication, very occasionally subtraction!) and I pay them; half goes into their money boxes and we go to a local dollars and cents store or similar and they can buy a little toy or whatever they want with the rest. If they want more expensive stuff, well they have to save up (and therefore go without) for an extra week or 2 to buy that one.

I find they remind each other when jobs aren't done, making it much easier for me and I don't have to be the ogre all the time (single dad).

I think you must go to the shop ON that payday to enforce the habit. I believe it also teaches them what use money has; the relationship between earning and gratification; how to use money; the benefits of saving; even just relationship between amounts ie can they buy a $1.50 toy with only 2 x .50c pieces??? It is also an aid in decision-making: which of the toys they can afford do they want, or should they get 2 half-price toys instead of one more expensive one?

Also, with 2 kids, they can see immediately if they haven't done as much as the sibling cos the other has more money and can afford a better toy (incidentally, I typically chip in an extra $1 each at the store or they couldn't afford anything!)

The "special" reward (the HUGE .30center!) I use when they have been especially good ie exceptionally polite especially at grown-up events, helping out me or other kids without expecting a reward - you know, above and beyond the call of duty stuff.

Hope this helps you as much as it helps me!!!

I started giving my boys small coins for packing up their toys and helping with the cleaning when my oldest was 2....they get a few small coins to put in their money box at this stage (they are almost 2 and 3 1/2) and it's a great incentive for them - they love it. As for pocket money for them to actually spend - I guess I will start that when they start school.

my sister and i started getting pocket money at about 5 yrs. and it was things like

*wash and wipe up

*help wash the car

* help bring the washing in

* help with the lawn mowing (if u do it urself)

*being good at the shops

* putting all toys away when finished playing with them,

even things like dressing him self (or the best he can), goin to bed on time, if ur teaching him anything eg reading, for every book he reads reasonable well he gets a dollar,

we used to only get $5 to $10 dollars a fortnight for helping but it taught us how to handle money and it went into a savings account for when we were say 18.

buy a jar and everytime he helps let him place a dollar or two in the jar and at the end of the week put in a savings account or let him buty something with it.