I’m often asked if Active Allowance is “fun” for kids. I answer “It’s a vegetable”.

No, I’m not totally off my rocker! When I think about the things our kids find fun – like their latest computer game….watching TV…..playing basketball or squash – and things they find “not fun” – like school….chores…..eating vegetables – I’d say “You’re asking the wrong question. You should be asking “Is it “good” for kids”.

Active Allowance is “good” for kids. There are parts they love! Younger kids often love to help Mom and Dad around the house and they take great pride in shouldering important responsibilities….but unfortunately, they usually grow out of that wonderful phase too quickly. Older kids love to have the empowerment of having money in their family bank and autonomy in writing checks and making spending decisions. But they would usually prefer to have the money without any responsibilities (now there’s a surprise!).

So the answer to “Is it fun?” is Yes and No. There are certainly parts they love, but also parts they don’t. Kids have fun sprucing up and personalizing their Responsibility Checklists, and parents can easily come up with fun rewards. But you don’t want the process to depend on being a fun game for kids. Kids quickly tire of most games. So if that were critically important, your process would soon be dead in its tracks.

This process helps you teach your kids about responsibility, and your values, and making choices. It’s too important to stop because the kids want to move on to their latest game-of-the-month. It needs to be integrated thoughtfully into everyday life and provide an ongoing opportunity for teaching/learning. That’s our number one goal.

So I answer “Active Allowance is like vegetables. It’s good for them. Prepare them the right way and they might even like them some of the time. And you know it will be healthy for them all the time”