Quick help needed!! Is a 5 yr old old enough to work for his pocket money and if so what jobs can we give him???????

[Jazzicatz]

Ds wants to save up for a lego fire engine, and we said he needs to earn the money. He seems ok with this, but what jobs are reasonable for a boy his age?

[ingles2]

At 5, my boys dusted with the feather duster, hoovered or picked up sticks in the garden for the fire.

[jaynehater]

DD2 is five, and she sets the table, sorts recyling, feeds the guinea pigs, sometimes washes non-valuable ornaments, and cleans skirting boards and the bathroom sink.

[UniS]

if you have non breakable plates and bowls etc then helping with drying up. My 21 m/o does this with varing degrees of usefullness.

[Hulababy]

DD (5) doesn't have any specific jobs but she is just expected to help out,in the same way me and Dh do, So, she will do various things varying amounts. She is expected to ensure her own bedroom is tidy though, and to put her dirty clothes in the wash basket.

Other things she might do but not always: laying table, clearing table, help wihth loading dishwasher, todying things away, hlping to load washer, wiping down table/surfaces, take fresh milk up to fridge/take empty bottles downstairs, check gerbils water/fod bowls are full, help with clearing out gerbils, etc.

[Jazzicatz]

Thanks everyone - just realisind what a cushy life my ds's have

[perpetualworrier]

Mine (6&4) do various jobs, on an adhoc basis, beds, rooms, washing up, alway put own toys away etc, but I'd be worried about setting the precendent that these are jobs they should be paid to do. Surely some responsibility for your own things is just something that has to be done?

[Jazzicatz]

Thats true perpertualwarrior. Think myself and dp need a rethink!

[perpetualworrier]

Should add, when I was I chld, I could earn pocket money (10p I think!) for cleaning my Dad's golf clubs. i.e it was doing something for him, rather than for me iyswim.

[Kammy]

My ds has a few set jobs - putting clothes in laundry basket, lay table, clear away, help tidy toys at the end of the day for his pocket money. If he wants a bit extra we set jobs to 'earn' money like helping in the garden.
We have just said that everyone works to keep the house running in some way and now he is old enough,(6) he can play his part, so there is still a general expectation that he should help. We added money because we wanted him to understand how much things cost and where money comes from - I have to say it has worked really well for him! He saved £20 (impressive - took about 15 weeks) because I said that he had to save if he wanted a playstation....

[Kitti]

I want all of you to send your working children to me - my 3 have it so easy!!! I've actually started getting them to scrub the kitchen cupbaords as a punishment because all other punishments don't work and it's a job I hate doing hee hee! I agree jobs like keeping their bedroom tidy should be something they do without earning money and this is something my 3 have gotten away with - but I always throw in some other jobs too like polishing - the polish never lasts long though with their over-zealousness - emptyng their bins, sweeping up etc. I never feel they've done enough though to hand over £1 considering they never pay me to wash their clothes, tidy their rooms etc!!!

[Chopster]

I never really wanted to start paying my kids for housework. We have the ethos that we all live together so we all have to put the work in, and you don't get paid for it!
I do pocket money as a reward for good behaviour and for good work at school. Not really sure I should be bribing them for school work, but dd is so hard to get motivated!

[Flibbertyjibbet]

My ds1 is 3 and since he was 2.6 he has picked up all his toys each night for a penny to put in his piggy bank.
He now gets all the knives and forks out for meals as it helps him to count, but he volunteered for that so we don't pay him
We will be moving to a house with a real fire soon perhaps I should send him up the chimney for 10p a time

[Flibbertyjibbet]

Where do you get money from Chopster, does anyone do any paid work in your family or is it just work in the house that has no monetary value

[HappiesGlamore]

chimneys. and match selling.
hes a bit late to be starting tho, how lax are you??

[Chopster]

Unfortunately it's just work in the house that doesn't give monetary rewards - otherwise I would be rolling in it!