I just got back from spending 3 days at a conference that was mostly focused on family and parenting. Â One theme that seemed to repeat itself was the importance of teaching kids about money and hard work. Unfortunately, today's world is filled with a lot of self-centered and “entitled” children. Kids that think they “deserve” everything that they want without having to do a thing to earn it. Â And too many parents just hand out money for kids like it grows on trees. Kids have no idea how hard their parents work to earn a living, which results in under-appreciated parents.
One speaker in particular talked about how she never has to nag her kids to unload the dishwasher, because too many of her kids are working towards “earning” a particular toy, or activity. They know that if they really want something, they must earn it. Â I personally don't feel children should feel entitled to a prize for accomplishing their own personal chores, but I love the idea of rewarding them for going the extra mile and accomplishing things that aren't assigned to them.
I won't get into that too much, but I wanted to make some fun printable money for kids to earn from their parents. Â You can use this as a reward for good behavior, for chores, as a way to teach “money” or just as an act of love (These make great lunch box surprises)! Â Just have fun with it. Â It might even be fun to gradually accumulate things as they are on sale or clearance, and have your own “family store.” Â My favorite things to use as rewards though, are activities and time spent with family. Â This might be a movie night or other fun activity, or an extra hour before bedtime, or a date with mom and dad.
When I was sick last week, I had my 9-year old niece over to help me. Â I was surprised how much fun she had “earning” some fun activities and prizes. Â I have a closet where I store fun things that I get super good deals on, and I let her earn some of them by doing “extra” helpful things. Â On her last day with us, she saw me designing this fake money for kids and she started jumping up and down. Â “Will you PLEASE send these over to my mom?! Â I want to earn some!” Â Haha, so here they are, from our family treasury to yours:
Printable Money For Kids
If you want them to last longer, you could laminate them and write with dry-erase. Â If you don't want to bother printing them, coins are another fun option that would last longer. Â I found a package of 144 for around $5-6.

What kind of reward system is most motivating for your kids?