Money for housework — yes, please!
Earning extra pocket money is an issue in many families. From 14 years of age, young people may Summer jobs exercise, but are still considered a child and are therefore subject to special rules of the Youth Work Protection Act. And get up early to work during the holidays? It sounds much more lucrative to contribute to the budget for one or the other euro. After all, this work can be completed flexibly and usually does not immediately take hours.
On the one hand, children who are paid for household chores learn that their work has value and that they must do something about it if they want to be paid. For many parents, it is also an easy way to motivate their children to do some housework.
Cleaning out the dishwasher costs two euros, vacuuming around five. It is problematic when there are several children in the household and it is no longer possible to understand who actually did what. A cleaning plan could help to keep an overview here.
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Money for housework — no thanks!
On the other hand, many parents take it for granted that their children get involved to a certain extent. In fact, even the law wants it that way.
”As long as he belongs to the parental household and is brought up or maintained by the parents, the child is obliged to provide services to the parents in their household and business in a manner appropriate to his powers and status of life.” § 1619 BGB
Advocates of these arguments see domestic work as a joint activity that should also be done by the entire family. After all, mothers and fathers don't get anything done when they clean the windows or generally ensure a clean home. Many fear that children will constantly be paid for everything once you start doing it.
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Children and their intrinsic motivation
Let's take running as an example. Every child, as long as physically healthy, learns to walk at some point, some earlier, others later. But everyone learns it from their own motivation. Children want to move, be mobile and discover their world. In the same way, children want to be part of the community, i.e. the family, and that includes taking on responsibility. Selbst little kids They can already help a lot and they often really enjoy doing it. If we now pay or reward our children for everything they do, this can have a negative impact on intrinsic motivation
It is intrinsic motivation that constantly drives us, as the famous author of the book “The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupery:
“If you want to build a ship, don't call people together to collect wood, distribute tasks and divide up the work, but teach them the longing for the big, wide sea. ”
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Extrinsic motivation
Imagine an adult who drags himself to work every day without motivation. He does his job according to the rules, but he really doesn't tear his leg off. He is offered the prospect of a promotion with a significantly better salary and higher reputation. Now he is working hard, he wants a better job, that much money. This motivation is extrinsic; it comes from outside. It is interesting that a classic wage increase is also about the quantity. A plus 5% or less is ironically demotivating, Employees react with defiance and make less effort. Financial motivation only takes effect after an increase of 7%, and unfortunately only for a certain period of time, because the new salary quickly becomes standard and dissatisfaction rises again.
As a result, we would have to pay our children more money for the same work at regular intervals so that they remain motivated. The result: A spiral of ever higher demands.
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A way out of the money motivation trap
Paying your children more and more money for household chores is therefore no way. Do you still want to reward your kids? One way would be for the whole family to go on a trip when the annoying spring cleaning was done together. After all, your children should learn that life consists not only of work and household, but also of fun.
Or you're having a house cleaning party. Let your kids choose music that you turn on when tidying up and cleaning. Because with loud music and a party atmosphere, things are immediately better. You should only avoid confetti at your cleaning party, otherwise you can start all over again.
You are important as a role model, if you pop the dishes into the dishwasher with a mouthy face or loudly complain that you always have to do the annoying housework alone, your children won't want to help.
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Of order fanatics and scumsparrows
They should actually exist: children who do not endure disorder and clean up on their own. Some people have this kind of behavior in their cradle, and some have to learn order first. And just like us adults, children also have their individual ideas of order and cleanliness. Kids like to keep their own order, especially in their own children's room. They have ideas about how to sort their stuff.
A child who feels right at home in chaos will barely get you to meticulously clean up his room, why would you? After all, everyone should feel good. However, clear rules, such as what common areas such as the kitchen, living room or bathroom should look like, help children and give them an important framework. And as we've learned, you won't permanently turn the biggest filth sparrow into a fanatic of order, even with a hefty financial injection.
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If there is money
Of course, it is your decision whether you pay your kids for household activities and how much this financial contribution is. With the Bling card's task planner, you can decide when tasks should be completed and with what amount you would like to reward them.
If you are against the rewards of housework, simply use the bling card to give your child pocket money in a modern way. Many useful functions make it easier for your children to handle pocket money and make them money wise.
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