By: Laura Buddenberg Boys Town Training, Evaluation and Certification

What about teens and allowances?  Should you give your adolescent an allowance and, if so, how much?

Kids are trying out their independence.  They’re looking around at their peers and trying to figure out what everyone else has.  They’re constantly asking Mom or Dad for cash or “borrowing it” (how many of us have stopped for a latte, thinking we had $10—only to find an empty billfold?). Parents start to hear “I need my own money!”

Everything we do as parents teaches our kids something.  So, what’s your “end game” for the allowance; or, what do you want your teen to learn?

By the teen years, we suggest that the best reason for giving a teen allowance is to teach money management.  Youth at this age can learn to write a check, balance an account and budget their expenses.  This is a great life skill and one that’s best learned while they’re still under your roof.

As for the exact amount, that can be determined by the budget you help your teen set, with a probation period and plan for review.  For some good suggestions, please see this page on teen Money Management.

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