[quote=meadandale]I know parents who pay their kids for every little thing they do: take out the trash, mow the lawn, clean the toilet. Guess what happens when the money isn’t a motivator anymore (e.g. they have enough and would rather not do the work)? They tell their parents to (politely) piss off. What are you gonna do then?[/quote]

We just started doing this with our 7 year olds and it is excellent. They always volunteer or try to beat each other to doing chores. They also learn to manage money.

My goal, always and forever, is to make my kids independent from me. That underlying principle drives everything I do with my kids.

At any age, if the money isn’t a motivator anymore, then one of three things has happened:

1) They have worked hard and gotten all the money the need, which is a good thing.
2) They have figured out how to live with less, which is a good thing.
3) They have found a different way to make more money than I am paying them, another good thing.

In these cases, I have many options depending on their age. I can find harder jobs that pay more, stop buying them food, ask that they pay rent, ask that they pay for things I usually paid for in the past, kick them out of the house, etc.

You can always make money a motivator by not spoiling them in the first place.

Money is always a motivator if you are free to spend it yourself. Kids get a taste of the freedom associated with spending their own money and they are hooked forever.