Parents around Australia have forged the ‘age of entitlement’ beliefs with a recent survey* revealing that over half of Australian kids do chores for their pocket money.
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This revelation is no different in this area when the Eastern Riverina Chronicle spoke with parents about the topic.
Mother of three Patricia Woodward from Henty makes sure her children do chores for their pocket money or rewards.
“If they don’t have to earn it then they will expect it all the time and they’ll expect it after they grow up,” Ms Woodward said.
Mother and teacher Natalie Fraser has an extensive plan for her daughter pocket money.
“When Saige approached me wanting pocket money we came up with a contract,” Ms Fraser said.
“For each job she ticks it off and when she’s done two or more she’ll get pocket money.”
Saige has to tick off her jobs on a chart once she has completed jobs like making her bed, scraping her plate, getting the mail, setting the table and collecting all her belongings.
For “bonus jobs” like vacuuming the house or cleaning the car the price is up for negotiation depending on how well the job was done.
“We bargain for it (the price). I think it teaches her a little bit about business too,” Ms Fraser added.
Another mother, Melissa Male, expects her children to complete housework each day with pocket money paid only for extra jobs like mowing the lawn or helping with farm work.
“Housework is a part of life, they have normal jobs they are expected to do like making their beds. Pocket money is only paid for extra things,” Ms Male said.
On a national scale, 52 percent of children aged seven to 10 earnt their pocket money from work done around the house.
Only five percent are given a set amount regardless of what the child does.
*The survey was conducted by Money Smart Week and was sponsored by life insurance company TAL. There were 1266 Australians surveyed.