Making allowances? Or . . . BRIBERY?
 

making allowances
 

I was delighted and gratified to learn that your kid(s) had chores at age 3 or 4. But that doesn't help me decide how to work an allowance (alas). More of your wisdom, please.

making allowances
 

Why not make a basic disconnect. Sort of a family citizenship thing. Everybody contributes. Everybody gets some money. They have responsibilities each week (walking the dog, cleaning their room, whatever) and they get an allowance each week. Fail to contribute, then no soup for them. You can cite Hugo Chavez if they press you on the point.

making allowances
 

I wonder if Taxwonk takes 35% of his income and redistributes it as allowance to the kids.

making allowances
 

He tried that, but his wife decided that wasn't enough for both the movie and popcorn (after all they do have Wonk's genes).

making allowances
 

No. He takes 25% and redistributes it to a large, highly-esteemed educational institution. Whatever is left over after paying for field trips, class parties, and pencil cases, he saves toward his daughter's college tuition.

making allowances
 

He takes 35%. But they get only 20%.

Allowances
 

Ty - I also don't pay Vietbabe to do chores. But....if you aren't paying for chores, it's hard to come up with a basis for an "allowance". Because they aren't shopping for their food, clothes, etc. and not going out without you for pizza with friends so they don't need the allowance. What I did was this: Vietbabe collects coins around the house and the car (prime pickins there!) and puts them in a Mason jar kept on the top of the frig. The other day, we went to a supermarket that had one of those "Coinstars" and I lifted her and she dumped the coins in and it tells you how much $$ you dumped in ($96 for one Mason Jar-full!). The machine lets you put some of the money towards charity and gives you a cash receipt for the rest. Then, I gave her a basket and told her she could buy one drink, a movie/vhs or 2 and a sweet (cupcake). She struggled over which drink flavor and which video to buy but it was good for her. Then, she went through the check-out line by herself.

I think the decisions/prioritizing is what you are also after, no? You could also sponsor a child and have your's contribute part of his/her "allowance" towards it.

(PS-I pocketed all but $20 that was left over after Vietbabe used the $96 cash receipt. Hey, Coinstar took an 8% share. Mom's gotta get her take too.)

Allowances
 

Yesterday's Boston Globe has an article about the allowance controversy:

"Even the experts aren't united on the value of an allowance."

Larger Car?
 

So, those of you who've moved from the 5-passenger vehicle to the 7 or 8, what do you drive, why did you pick it, and how do you like it?

From what I've read so far, and from anecdotal evidence from friends' experiences, basically I'm getting that we'd be crazy if we got anything other than a Honda Odyssey.

tm

Larger Car?
 

It is physically impossile to look cool in a mini-van.

Larger Car?
 

Honda Pilot is nice. 3d Row seat stows all the way to the floor. Not as toolish as the Odyssey.

However, about Hondas, I don't know if they have electronic stability control: a must in my book.

Can always look at the Toyota equivalents.

Larger Car?
 

Um, I guess I should mention that I care about gas mileage?

Friends have a Pilot, and I've driven it. It is an SUV, and while not as much of a truck/beast as my brother's Suburban, it's not particularly well-mannered.

And the third row is not as accessible in most SUVs as it is in most minivans. And I'll be needing that third row more than just occasionally.

tm

The only thing we're considering along with an Odyssey is the new GMC Acadia, which has received pretty good reviews. It's a crossover SUV with a minivan-like seating arrangement. Here's one of the reviews I saw recently. We'll look at the Sienna too, and maybe the Quest, but we aren't really going to buy for a couple more years. I just like to research ahead of time.

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/...acadia_review/

Gift Suggestions?
 

I'm looking for a gift for a 1 year old nephew. He has an older brother and a reliable stream of hand-me-downs. Plus he's just getting to be big enough to show particular interests. His mother requested some unspecified Leap Frog item but looking around online, most of the stuff in the 12-24 month age-range gets mixed reviews. The Baby Tad looks like the most appealing Leap Frog toy I've found thus far.

Does anyone have any suggestions, Leap Frog brand or otherwise? The boy in question has pretty intense concentration, has been walking for a month+ already, and is pretty mellow and happy except when he's hungry.

Many thanks in advance.