Kids working?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Would you take money from your child(ren) who work and live at home for expenses around the home? Would you expect them to work to help provide for the family? Or is it just for extras?

For clarification this is for children under 18 years of age.

[Coleroo]

It would be really hard for me to do so (take money for rent, electricity, etc) personally because my parents never "required" it of me (i lived at home til I married at age 23), and I think I turned out ok. It seems to be ingrained in my family system that we all take care of each other - parents take care of their kids when they cant, kids take care of their parents when they cant.

Now personal luxuries are different - cigarrettes, electronics, gucci bags, etc would definately have to come from their own money. But basic living expensese..no..i wouldnt be able to.

I guess its how one was raised and their family opinions on how they would treat this matter.

EDIT: Forgot to mention - I've been working since I was 14 and used the money for the personal things i felt I shouldnt burden my parents with (trendy stuff, computers, makeup etc).

[disneysteve]

I wouldn't let my kid live at home - LOL! Once you're out of school and have a job, it's time to get your own place. I would strongly encourage my daughter to go out on her own.

If, for some reason, she was still living home then yes, I would expect her to contribute. I know too many people who bitch and complain that their kids are still living home sponging off mom and dad, but if you don't require anything of the kids, why would they want to leave? They aren't stupid.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

No steve we're talking about kids under 18. Nope we are talking about high school age or younger children.

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by LivingAlmostLarge

No steve we're talking about kids under 18. Nope we are talking about high school age or younger children.

Totally different story. No, minor children are the parent's responsibility. Food, shelter, basic clothing, education and related expenses and reasonable entertainment expenses should be paid by the parents. If the kid wants something special - a new video game, concert tickets, trendy clothes, etc., I would expect her to pay for that with her earnings/allowance, but not to contribute to running the household.

My 11-year-old daughter already does this with her allowance, and just yesterday, we talked about increasing her allowance and increasing the things she is responsible for paying for with that money. If she starts working (probably babysitting within the year), we'll work that into the equation.

[genmed]

I have to agree, when children (under 18) are in school, it's the parent's responsibility to provide food, clothing, etc. It's been that way in our family.

Now I could see a few extreme cases if a family is truely impoverished and the teens chose to get a job to help the family, but generally no I wouldn't expect children to work to help provide for the family.

[tinapbeana]

ditto genmed's comment

[five2one]

When my now 18yo was still at home, she had a job at 15. She had to reimburse me for the gas it took for me to drive her back and forth to work and she chipped in the occasional gallon of milk or whatnot to reimburse my time. Once she turned 16, she had to make her own car payment (we paid the insurance) and any other "extra" expenses she incurred. One of those was dental bills b/c she refused to brush her teeth properly. Weird, don't ask me why she didn't, but she was warned that if there were any negative consequences to her failing to brush, she was financially responsible. Fortunately for her, the dentist put her on a payment plan and she started brushing again! We provided her with shelter, basic food, and clothing. Anything above that was her own responsibility. She could take a lunch from home to work, or she could use her own money to buy mall food.

Our rule was/is you get one year after graduation rent-free. After that, it's pay up or move out. Thankfully, the older 2 moved out!

[Lori63]

Originally Posted by genmed

I have to agree, when children (under 18) are in school, it's the parent's responsibility to provide food, clothing, etc. It's been that way in our family.

Now I could see a few extreme cases if a family is truely impoverished and the teens chose to get a job to help the family, but generally no I wouldn't expect children to work to help provide for the family.

Ditto

[rduell]

All of our kids, so far, have had jobs when they turned 16. They pay their car insurance and anything extra that they want or want to do. Other than that we pay the rest.

[PrincessPerky]

If I needed the money I would take it, though grudgingly.

If on the other hand it was just cause they had it, I would only help them save, not take money for rent. (IE anytime an older kid is home with a nice job If the whole save some lesson failed, I would prolly institute a rent, and put it in a savings account for them....)

However I often let the kids pay for their own splurges, they have the loot! We are going out to an arcade Friday, I can't afford tokens for three plus dinner, but they all have money to spend, what better way than on a good time!

And ditto the car insurance, I will help while they get a job, but once they have it they will pay (though I will let them be a rider on mine to save on costs while they live with me) Same rule for any other non food/home bill, like a cell phone, you want one you pay.....

[Daylily]

Since I don't have kids and never will, perhaps my opinion doesn't count. When I was in high school, one of the neighborhood kids had a paper route. Because he was earning money, it was his responsibility to pay for the milk for the family. The family was not in any financial trouble. I think it was just a lesson on contributing and family building. I don't think it was a bad thing.

[Hot dog]

My kids buy their own wants and I provide their needs. I will give $20-$30 for shoes and they pay the rest if they want a particular kind. If they want to go out with friends they pay. They may even pay for their hair products, cuts, lotion, and if they want a particular deodorant. They will use my coupons though. They are learning that they do help.

[Cassandra]

Interesting question.

I'm 18 and have held a job since I was 17, which was when I started driving (I chose to start late). It wasn't until about November that my parents asked me to help with family expenses. Before then my money was my money and I got to do with it as I pleased.

Even though I would rather spend my money on other things, I don't begrudge my parents for expecting me to contribute. Family helps each other out and it wouldn't be right, IMO, for me to live off my parents without contributing. I don't pay any regular bills, but I'll pay for my mom's meds, help pay for the water bill, etc. whenever they ask me to.

But my situation is very different from most.

Cassandra

[rduell]

I should have added that we did pay half of DD's car insurance each month during the summer when she would watch her younger brother and sister for us while we were at work. They were pre-teens so didn't need a LOT of care, just someone to check on them and know where they were.

I'm 17 and I don't contribute to home expense. I use my own money for personal expense like clothes, skin care, haircut, shoes, etc. My parents let me live at the house and they pay for food and education.

[LuxLiving]

Under 18 - no. Chores are cheerfully done as assigned on a moment by moment basis. Work was required after age 17. We were homeschooling and it just worked out that way for us.

Ages 18-20 - Must work & be saving for move-out & retirement - not allowed to just blow all your cash. Regularly assigned chores at your leisure, but must be done by bedtime.

Over age 20 at my house you MUST WORK & pay (currently) $200 a month room & board and some household chores expected w/o reminders - lawn mowing & trash removal, kitchen cleanup & laundry foldups/put aways. Mom cooks, starts the wash and does general household cleaning and helps w/budgeting priorities.

So far, so good. We reassess every 6 months.

[fairy74]

I agree under 18, no money towards household expenses. However, if they are working that is the time to scale back to providing the basics (i.e. I'll buy suave shampoo, if you want Pantene pony up bucko!). School supplies and clothes, basics any designer brands they get to pay for. DH and I might help to buy a cheap, basic car but all gas, insurance, maintenance would be up to the working child. Also 10% of each check needs to go into a savings account. And I would totally cut off funds for entertainment type acitivities (i.e. concerts, movies, etc...). It's a good way to make sure that they are beginning to understand how much things cost and that luxury is just that...

[PrincessPerky]

I think having a magic cut off age might be a bit hard to swallow for a teen....

[Ima saver]

I started working at age 12. I bought my own clothes, shoes, school supplies, school lunches and anything else I needed. My father had died and there was no extra money for anything other than basic food, electric, water and heat.
I bought my own car and paid for my own gas, oil change, insurance, etc.