Sally (UK)

Paying kids for chores sends kids a clearly wrong message. In the absence of a payment, some children would willingly set the table, empty the garbage or make their beds. It converts a family obligation into just another commercial transaction and teaches that the only reason to do a less-than-desirable task for your family is in exchange for payment. Wow, that is not the message parents want to send. We want kids to contribute because they are important members of our family and everyone has to contribute.

Lily Cherry, 8, cleans her bathroom as her mother, Andrea, supervises at their home in Kingwood, Texas. Cherry has passed on her childhood practice of doing chores to her own children, believing it gives them a sense of family responsibility. [Photo/IC]