40% of teenagers will only help around the house in return for payments or treats
That’s according to our latest School Sticker survey, answered by over 1,300 pupils.
We sent our survey out to all secondary schools in the UK and also promoted it to the 68,000 secondary school pupils that use MyStickers. Our results surrounding pocket money and children’s attitudes towards helping out around the house were very interesting.
What the kids taught us
We discovered that as many as 40% of children will only pitch in with chores if they are rewarded with money or treats.
For generations, parents have been asking their children to tidy their room and help around the home, doing tasks such as tidying their bedroom and putting the bins out. But these days it seems that comes at a cost, with only half (51%) of kids agreeing to do it for free. One in ten (9%) say that they don’t help around the house at all.
At a time when family finances across the world are being stretched it now seems that theirs an added burden to parents everywhere- their own children.
Not all kids surveyed needed an incentive to do housework though with 31% doing it for free. Another 8% of children only receive money when they need it rather than getting a weekly amount.
The damage?
Lets talk cost.
It wasn’t clear from this year’s research how much teenagers are being paid for specific chores, but when it comes to pocket money, you can expect an average of £5 in outgoings which seems fairly reasonable for a teenager. 10% of children said they get £10 and 8% said they receive over that per week though so we don’t advise allowing your kids to read this research.
Besides from money the top 5 most common rewards for chores are food treats (e.g. sweets and chocolate), watching a DVD, an extra hour online, a new toy or game (including apps) and a day trip.
Whilst these are all pretty costly rewards, the results show that rewards don’t always have to be expensive with later bed time, having friends to sleep over and movie and pizza nights all being high ranking rewards.
Neil Hodges, Managing Director, School Stickers said
“It would be great if all children were happy to help around the house and study hard at school without any rewards, whether it be money or treats, but the reality is that there are always going to be teenagers who need some extra motivation. Rewards have been used by teachers and parents for generations to engage children, and if they learn that a house doesn’t tidy itself, and the value of saving and hard work, they will be used for generations to come.”
School Stickers rewards
Our reward and chore charts are a fantastic way to motivate kids to work hard. When kids see their progress on the charts they feel a sense of pride and are spurred on to work harder to earn their next sticker.
All of our reward charts can be customised with school or children’s names so kids can have their own personal reward chart to work on.
With a range of designs, styles and uses we’re sure you’ll find something to stand up to your children’s needs.
What do you think? Do your children demand rewards when being asked to do tasks around the house? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us: @SchoolStickers