Do you give your kids an allowance? As a single mom there wasn’t always enough money to give Hailey an allowance. I wanted her to be responsible for herself and take pride in a job well done, but I just couldn’t give her an allowance for doing those things.
I had to come up with something else. I decided to use experiences instead of money. There is always so much to do that just making the time to do something special with your child is a challenge. I created a list of things she could earn, based on the points from her chore chart.
Each child is different so your list will be different, what worked for us may not be what is important to your child. Here are the things we came up with:
1. Having a sleepover with a friend- this was Hailey’s favorite thing, little girls giggling together all night.
2. Baking cookies.
3. Have a beauty shop night- facials, manicures and pedicures, given by Mom, of course.
4. Having a movie marathon night with Mom. We would pop popcorn and camp out on the living room floor watching movies of Hailey’s choice until we fell asleep.
5. Letting Hailey and her friends build a fort out of blankets and furniture in the family room.
6. Building a snowman together.
7. A trip to the park to feed the ducks.
8. An ice cream cone and a walk on a spring day.
9. There are tons of seasonal craft projects online and plenty that you can find that just use things you already have around the house. Fall placemats made with wax paper, crayon shavings and leaves are always a favorite.
You don’t have to spend money to reward your children, although sometimes society makes it seem like you should, children enjoy one on one time with their parents. They want to know that they are important enough for you to stop and do something they will enjoy, with them. Best of all, you get to have fun right along with them, making memories that one day, they will share with their children.