Should Teens Receive An Allowance If They Are Working?by Myra Turner | More from this Blogger 15 Feb 2007 09:23 PM Should a teen's allowance end once they start working? I was surprised to find that 45% of respondents in a recent poll by the Family Education Network felt that teens should continue to receive an allowance once they start working. 47% voted "no" and just 8% had "no opinion". I found this kind of odd. I've never known a teen that worked and received an allowance. That seems to defeat the purpose of working. When teens work, it's a step toward independence. It's also a good way for them to learn the value of money and how to budget. If they know that they are still going to get an allowance I would think they would not budget their money as well since they know they have additional income to look forward to. I work and I receive child support. The latter is money that I can depend on receiving twice a month. But I've always felt that technically it's Tyler's money. So even though I know that I can depend on it, it's money that I use to provide for his basic needs: clothes, haircuts, entertainment, etc. Therefore, I don't count it as part of my monthly income. As a parent, I can't see giving Tyler an allowance if he's also working. If he wants to work, then he has to learn to budget his money appropriately. It's like the kids who have cars but never seem to have enough money to put gas in the car. I'm sure the parents who feel kids should continue to get an allowance must have a good reason for feeling the way they do. I just don't get it. I think a better use of the money would be to invest it or save it for your child and give the money to them as a graduation present. You've already budgeted for it anyway. Maybe that's why the parents do it? What's your opinion, should a teen continue to receive an allowance once they are gainfully employed? See also: Teaching Your Children The True Value of a Dollar Learn more about Myra Turner  I'm a proud mid-life single mom with an active seven-year-old son, Tyler. Relevantparenting tags User Comments  Valorie Delp (49340) 16 Feb 2007 05:51 AMIt depends on the situation and the teen. You're assuming that a teen who is working makes enough for their needs. The young lady (she's actually 20) who babysits for us also gets an allowance from her parents. She (and her parents) feel like she is helping us out and so the money is not as important to her. She could make more money elsewhere but keeps this job to be a support to our family. So we pay her and she works as much as she can (and as much as we can afford to pay her) which is $70 per week. However, that will not take care of all her needs no matter how well she budgets. She can't get back and forth to school, maintain her car, buy the clothing that she needs (which believe me is very little), and have anything left over just on what we pay her. She is a 4.0 student, very involved in church, in her family life, and everywhere else. She still has to budget. I WOULD NOT however, continue giving my child an allowance if after a budget, we determined that he/she made enough to cover their expenses. But I would be happy to keep giving my kids allowance in order to allow them to pursue other things that either didn't pay as well as they needed or were equally worth while. Community Tags allowance, teens, teen appointment Discuss this article
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