"We felt that the money was taken for granted, and it became an expectation, uncomfortably close to a demand"

Do you give your kids an allowance and if so, how much?

We tried it many years ago, when our kids were all young. It depended on their age, but the range was something like 50 cents to $2 or $3. But we only did it for about four months because we really didn’t like it. We felt that the money was taken for granted, and it became an expectation, uncomfortably close to a demand.

—Yechiel and Shifra Jacobson

Not at the moment. We tried it almost six years ago, giving the kids between $1 and $5.50 weekly (the older the kid, the more they got) but I really didn’t like it because it meant I had to remember to go to the bank and get cash every week. Way too much hassle.

—Leah Lowy

No.

—S. Kaplan

Yes, we started a couple years ago. It changes per age. Our six-year-old gets $1 per week, our 11-year-old gets $3 per week and the 13-year-old gets $5 per week.

—Bayla

It depends on the kid. Our special-needs teen is going to an out-of-town yeshivah and obviously needs pocket money. We give him $5 per day, so its $35 per week. He gets $50 if there’s an off Shabbos and we didn’t bring him home. This is the first of our children we’ve ever given money to just like that. We had another son who went to an out-of-town yeshivah, but he was content to earn his own way. We paid for flights and sent him occasional gifts, but nothing was ever scheduled like this.

—Reuven A.

Yes. We started with my oldest child who recently turned nine. Until then, we did a ticket system with prizes. We currently give my son $1 per day, so its $7 per week.

—Shoshana R.