Allowance: Is 4-years-old too Early to Start?

Is a 4-year-old too young to begin receiving a weekly allowance? Am I trying to jump-start my daughter's little life with the complications of money? Does she really need to know how much a dolly costs at this early age when all I really want is for her to rejoice in the world of dress up and play-dates. What's next a discussion about debt and credit cards? Most likely quite soon, if I want to be smart about it.

After all like most kids her age, she can figure out the inner workings of the T.V. remote and DVR to find the latest recordings of Wow Wow Wubbzy, take my computer hostage to manipulate around Disney's Penguin Game, work my iPhone to find music. So why would the small concept of the cost of a toy be too complex to grasp? Especially when she can already outsmart me at every turn.

Why not empower a child with an understanding that each thing they request has a cost/value?

As you know, kids begin asking for things as soon as they can speak. And once they realize there is an unlimited surplus of toys at every turn from Target to Wal-Mart and every grocery store in-between, they don't ever seem to stop asking. What great sales people kids would make, they never take "no" for an answer.

So, we started Dalia's allowance last week. I was enlightened after a candid conversation with a friend who mentioned he started with his first child when she was 3. He gives a dollar a week for each year of age, so $3 at age three, $4 at age four etc.

He mentioned it relieved the parents of the burden of saying "no" at each outing by putting the decision back to the child.

It allows the conversation to expound on whether or not they really need another toy that minute. Once you can say "Dalia that costs $4, so it will cost your whole allowance to pay for it," suddenly the cost-benefit declines exponentially.

She has already told her dad that she wants to save her money, so she can buy a bigger toy. I'll take that as a positive at least in the "understanding the value of saving" category.

This will take some discipline on my part too. The urge to say "yes" can be overwhelming when a child is pleading incessantly for 15 minutes while your focusing on the dinner menu at the store. It's easy to give in, but in the long run, she will understand the value of her dollars as long as I can hold true to the end result.

Please comment:

Do you give your child an allowance? At what age did you start? Have you found that giving your child an allowance has provided a meaningful lesson in the value of saving?

Charlene Frias is a Social Media Writer focusing on family, finance, kids, parenting, and education. charlenefrias.wordpress.com Current Project: Disney's Family.com Parenting a Princess Blog titled: "Confessions from the Castle, A Mom's Blog"