A pretty common phrase heard in homes now days is, "What about my allowance mom?" For generations the debate about allowance has been a hot topic. Child development professionals and parents have discussed these issues about allowance for years. I know that numerous children received an allowance when I was a child and that was a few years ago, and everybody seemed to have different amounts of money, chores, and even school marks needed to get their allowance. Some parents do not agree with paying their children, my parents were of this belief. I was actually a minority in the allowance receiving world, which I am not sure was a good thing or not. As a child that never received an allowance I was still able to learn the value of money and learn how to save.

Many professionals talk about allowance's as an important tool to teach kids how to be financially responsible, teach them the relationship between working and money, and finally that money does not grow on trees, it's not unlimited. It is also felt that children need to learn about finances at an early age as they develop spending habits younger as well. Some professionals even believe the constant pleading and begging can I? Can I have? That occurs on every shopping trip you may attempt taking your kids on, can be stopped with an allowance. I'm not so sure about this, I found that my children would come up with logical rational as to why it would be better for me to pay for an item rather than them depleting their savings to buy yet a larger item. Especially if their savings were made up of "gift" money because "Grandpa wouldn't want me to use it on gum Mom". There have been many debates about allowance among professionals as well as parents and kids.

So, what about their allowance is soo great? I'm not so sure. As a kid that didn't receive an allowance I didn't miss out on learning the importance of finances, nor did I believe that we had an unlimited supply of money. Therefore, teaching children the value of money is achievable without an allowance.

The next big question is; at what age should a child get an allowance? Some believe that an allowance should be started as soon as a child begins to ask questions about money. That means that starting an allowance at age three is not unheard of. In my opinion the child should be able to understand what money is prior to even discussing an allowance. Others have said that by the time a child enters school they should start receiving an allowance.

Parents should think about what expectations they have of their child in order for them to earn their allowance. Should parents pay children for doing chores or not. Some believe that paying a child to participate in a family, and help with household chores is plain crazy. The feeling is that the parent doesn't get paid for running a household so why should a kid. Children need to learn the importance of freely participating in their families and home lives. Others feel paying money for chores done is what an allowance is all about. During my research I found that many child development experts feel that chores and an allowance go hand in hand.

Deciding what chores should be paid for and what chores should be done as an activity of daily living can be very difficult. Or should a child be paid an allowance even if they didn't complete their chores? Kids lives can become very busy. What with sports, music, and of course homework they may not have a great deal of time to complete their chores. Time scheduling usually is not the child's decision rather it is the soccer teams, cheer leading squad or even the teachers expectations that rule how the child's time is spent. So should they be penalized for not doing chores when they had to complete a power point about the life span of a frog? If anything I feel that encouraging the child to do their best work is way more important than doing a certain chore. One should keep in mind the child's time restraints when thinking about their allowances. Schools have the kids doing tons of homework at home, not to mention the amount of time that the child is expected to read each day. And of course children need time to play and grow relationships with their own friends.

Some experts feel that giving an allowance for a child for obtaining a certain mark in school is a great way to motivate kids. I feel that school marks should be a reflection of the child's best effort in school and not about an allowance. My concern is what to do when there are two or three children in the home with different grade averages, do they receive the same allowance or not. Or maybe one child finds school easy where another has to struggle for good marks. If you are paying the allowance on the grounds of effort made then the child who had to work so much harder for the same mark should get paid more. This isn't very realistic, and almost impossible to fairly pay kids equally.

Lastly deciding what amount of an allowance should be paid also is debated. My parents would allow me to go to the corner store with twenty five cents and I would come home with a bag full of candies and feel great pride that I was able to spend my money so thriftily. Although twenty five cents isn't going to work now days, that's for sure. The experts have also come up with rules to calculate allowance amounts. Giving a child fifty cents or a dollar multiplied by their age is one option. Determining the amount of money that you already spend during the ongoing Can I? Please!! shopping tours is yet another.

In conclusion I found that there are many child development experts and financial experts who have come up with a huge amount of rules and regulations about allowances. And I'm not so sure I agree with them or not. It may be because it was how I was raised but I think that no allowance might be the right answer. And, as my parents did, reward the child with an allowance, of sorts, for good behaviour. Of course good behaviour includes doing your chores, doing your best at school and obeying your parents always. Rather than handing over the dough every Friday without fail why can't you give a sort of allowance when ever? I especially enjoy giving my kids an allowance when they are least expecting it. It teaches them that good behaviour really is worth it, and that I'm actually paying attention to them and noticing what they are doing, good or bad. So Mom, when they ask, "WHAT ABOUT MY ALLOWANCE?" You can always answer " Yes son, and what about your allowance are we talking about THIS week?"

Come and check out my new website at http://www.talkaboutkidsissues.com. It's a brand new way to help parents understand and cope with today's kids issues. Allowing parents to take time to talk about their kids issues and get some parenting advice for themselves.

Entertaining tell all's from author Leanne Ferguson, a single mother of two teenagers.A nurse of 22 years, Leanne gives to the community, posting informative articles about keeping kids and families healthy. This recently divorced mom has had real life difficulties, kids issues and problems of her own. Writing stories based on her own life to help others in the same shoes. Articles about allowance, dealing with summertime and kids, how to come up with an allowance amount, sending kids to ranch camp, kids fitness and so much more. Sending out some advice for parents letting them know that she has been through kids issues too. How she has handled some of the ups and downs in life and survived. Even her kids survived.

By Leanne Ferguson

Studies have made the news again regarding television and our children. Too much television is not good for our kids. The very presence of a television in your child’s room can be a determining factor in how well your kids do academically. Kids today are continuing to be “plugged in.”

Limit television viewing. Move the TV out of you kids’ rooms. We move the television into a common and give our kids time limits. A comment I hear often when people ask me about the Tokens for TV program is what do my kids do now? Our kids are so used to being plugged in they don’t know what to do. They’re bored.

It doesn’t matter if your children are 6 or 16, the answer is the same. It’s time to teach our kids how to play again. Having a time for quiet and play are important life skills. Start with the following ideas to help your kids in their unplugged play:
• Play a game. Dig out your board games. Checkers, Chess, Monopoly and Sorry! are all great games.
• Dig out the playing cards. Go Fish, Old Maid, War… There are even other specific card games such as Uno out there. You can also teach your children how to play solitaire.
• Be a bookworm. Go to the library in your home or your community. Scour the thrift shops and yard sales. Be a part of a book exchange. There are also some great audio books available at the library. You can also purchase audio books at thrift stores, department stores and online.
• Hands-on fun. Bring out the clay or play dough.
• Build something. LEGO’s, Lincoln Logs and K’nex. Don’t have these construction pieces? Try creating structures using toothpicks and connecting them together with green peas. Sounds funny, but it works!
• Go outdoors. Outdoor games like marbles, jacks, hopscotch not only occupy your kids, they will also strengthen coordination skills. Too hot or cold out? The garage, basement and/or kitchen floors will work fine too.
• Become an outdoor artist. Buy a tub of colored chalk from the local discount store and give your kids a theme to create their own masterpieces on your front or back sidewalks. Take pictures of them for your family album.

Be prepared for a little bit of whining or frustration on your kids’ part. It’s normal. It won’t take long and your kids will be able to find other things to do instead of plugging in and tuning the world out.

There are many variations of homemade play dough. The Internet or any kid’s craft book are great resources if you would like more ideas. There are edible versions as well (less clean up!). The following recipe contains items commonly found in most kitchens.

UNCOOKED SALT DOUGH
Ingredients:
• 3 cups of flour
• 1/4 cup of salt
• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
• 1 cup of water
• food coloring (liquid is best)

Instructions:
1. Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl.
2. Add water and oil slowly.
3. Add desired amount of food coloring.
4. Store dough in air tight container.

Add water (a little at a time) if dough is too stiff. If dough is too sticky, add more flour.

Homework Help for the Attention Deficit Child
Relax. We have some tried-and-try ADHD information that should get your A.D.D. child on the right homework path.
The hyperactive or A.D.D. child especially needs consistency, a work place free of distractions, solid encouragement and praise - along with established consequences if the positive homework tips fail.

Establish a Set Homework Routine:
Work with your child to develop that routine. Some Attention Deficit and hyperactive children work best immediately after school while others need an hour or two to settle down before jumping back into studies.

To help the A.D.D. child better focus, the work area should be free of distractions, such as televisions, video games, music and other people.

Mandatory Homework Time:
We are strong proponents of establishing an allotted amount of homework time on school days. This set amount of time gives consistency to the hyperactive or A.D.D. child and discourages rushing through homework.

Talk with your child's teachers about the average recommended homework time for the child's grade level. In general, elementary school children should spend about 30 minutes each night on homework. Middle school and high school students should spend about one hour on homework.

If the child does not have homework that evening or they finish before the allotted time, the child can read until their mandatory homework time is over.

"Chunking" and Scheduled Breaks:
The hyperactive and A.D.D. child often experiences difficulty with long-range tasks. "Chunking" homework for the hyperactive or A.D.D. child helps break the homework task into smaller, more manageable pieces.

You can break a 20-problem math assignment into four chunks of five problems each, with a small break in between chunks. If using the mandatory homework time schedule, set a kitchen timer to ring every five to 15 minutes, depending on the child's attention span.

Rewards/Consequences:
As with any parenting issue, rewarding good behavior and disciplining poor behavior motivates kids toward good behavior. The A.D.D. child needs all the rewards they can get, along with firm and consistent consequences.

The homework contract clearly states that when the homework is completed, the child will earn a reward. The contract also clearly outlines consequences for not completing homework.
You can offer daily modest rewards like earning time to play Gameboy, the right to choose a favorite dinner or a modest treat or special privilege. You can give out one point for every night of completed homework for the child to cash in for a trip to the zoo after earning five points, for instance.

Effective consequences for not completing homework are losing phone, computer, stereo and television privileges for the evening. It is important that you remain calm, firm and consistent on nights when Attention Deficit Disorder child decides to get into a power struggle over homework. It may take a couple consequence days before the child realizes that completing homework makes for a better night than not doing homework.

The goal is to develop a solid homework habit. With a homework habit established, better grades will automatically follow.
Don't forget to offer the intangible rewards of smiles and praise when your child puts the effort into completing his homework. A "way to go" goes a long way in positive reinforcement for Attention Deficit Disorder children.

Additional Homework ADHD Information:
• Using an assignment book for the A.D.D. child helps parents keep track of the child's daily and weekly homework.
• If the teacher does not use an assignment book, develop a system with the teacher so you know the child's homework assignments.
• If the A.D.D. child insist on heavy parental homework help, require that the child attempt problems at least twice before asking for homework help. Attention Deficit and hyperactive children may not be able to receive "A"s on every homework and school assignment. Instead of getting hung up on the traditional grading scale, give you’re A.D.D. child an "A" for effort.