fair pay for 16 year old son.

[whiting-5]

so my son wants to work so he has money to pay his insurance gas etc on his jeep he will be gettin his license pretty quick wife says he should get paid for splittin stackin haulin etc. i say he sucks up just as much heat as every one else in this family. i say its chores he has to do as part of the family. what do you guys do ??? and if i do pay him it would have to be by the job not hour i get burned everytime i pay him by the hour. when i look out and see him texting with that g&d da%n cell phone i want to put my boot so far up his arse . damn i hate them things ( sorry i had to vent on that) so what do you guys think.

 

[husky455rancher]

well when i was of driving age i got a job at the gas station for 5.25 an hour. whe i was about 14-15 or so i got 5 bucks a week for the normal stuff i did around the yard. no work no 5 bucks. i didnt mind doing the work anyway i like to help out when i can. even now that i have my own house 20 miles away from my parents i still help waaaayyyymore than my lazy ass brother who still lives there. rent free i might ad.

 

[TreeBot]

so my son wants to work so he has money to pay his insurance gas etc on his jeep he will be gettin his license pretty quick wife says he should get paid for splittin stackin haulin etc. i say he sucks up just as much heat as every one else in this family. i say its chores he has to do as part of the family. what do you guys do ??? and if i do pay him it would have to be by the job not hour i get burned everytime i pay him by the hour. when i look out and see him texting with that g&d da%n cell phone i want to put my boot so far up his arse . damn i hate them things ( sorry i had to vent on that) so what do you guys think.

You should set him up to sell a bit of his own wood so he can see how much work really goes into it. That way he is also bringing in outside money, instead of just helping you spend your money.

 

[zr900]

As a 28 year old who has been splitting and stacking since i was 10 or younger, and cutting since about 16, I would say its a chore, not a job.

I never enjoyed cutting wood until I started running the saws but I really enjoy cutting now and don't even mind splitting and stacking as it saves so much money on heating bills.

But this is just my opinion.

 

[husky455rancher]

ahh funny you mentioned cuttin the grass my dads yard is friggin huge and i used to cut it with a 22" push mower. he got a new mower this year anothe 22" push mower. i was like dad atleast get a self propelled mower his response was thats just another thing to break.

the mower finally died this year 15 yo i think it was on its 2nd deck. the motor still ran fine but the base where it mounts was all cracked and it was a matter of time before it just came flying off. it was a murray i think 3.5hp i gotta say it still ran like a top when he threw it away.

 

[beerman6]

I'm with TreeCo on this...

I did pay my son to help me once,bought him breakfast on the way to the pile and paid him $20 for a hour and a halfs work BUT it was his 11th birthday and he wanted to go with me.

 

[porta mill]

pay

I will add one to the list . when I was a kid I had to cut, stack, and split and the pay I got was three hots and a cot. no pay or allowance the only way I got money was work for it of save from birthdays and such. I do agree with treebot set him up with a few loads of wood and make cut, split , and stack and sell it . with all the hard work put in he might appreciate money and what you provide for him for free. good luck hope this works you should show this to the wife and let her see what everyone says about the matter

 

[dingeryote]

It's a chore, like mowing, feeding the Hogs, bailing Hay, cleaning the Farrow house etc..

If ya want to see him work, pay him for any wood cut split and stacked weekly, starting with the third cord. Sunday at Midnight starts the clock each week.

By thursday he should have figured out he ain't gonna make Jack, finger popping the cell phone and will get to work.

Three cords a week ain't too much to ask as a chore, and it beats working at Burgermart for Min. Wage.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

 

[MS460WOODCHUCK]

I will add one to the list . when I was a kid I had to cut, stack, and split and the pay I got was three hots and a cot. no pay or allowance the only way I got money was work for it of save from birthdays and such. I do agree with treebot set him up with a few loads of wood and make cut, split , and stack and sell it . with all the hard work put in he might appreciate money and what you provide for him for free. good luck hope this works you should show this to the wife and let her see what everyone says about the matter

Yep!:agree2: Don't forget to make him buy his own gas and oil after his 1st load.

 

[mattmc2003]

It's a chore, like mowing, feeding the Hogs, bailing Hay, cleaning the Farrow house etc..

If ya want to see him work, pay him for any wood cut split and stacked weekly, starting with the third cord. Sunday at Midnight starts the clock each week.

By thursday he should have figured out he ain't gonna make Jack, finger popping the cell phone and will get to work.

Three cords a week ain't too much to ask as a chore, and it beats working at Burgermart for Min. Wage.

Stay safe!
Dingeryote

Three cords a week working after school would be kinda tough i think. Even with the weekend. All he would have time for was wood. i say pay him a set amount for cord he splits and stacks.

 

[Lugo420]

Please don't pay your kid to do what you do for free. I made this mistake when my step-kids were younger (10 & 14) and now they won't do anything unless money is involved. My biological son (11 now) helps my wife and I with all chores without being asked and doesn't expect anything for it. The other two will sit in front of that nice warm stove and watch me or wife bring wood in and not even offer to help. Same goes for all the other work around the house. And yes arse whoopings were a part of their discipline until somebody at school told them I couldn't do that and CPS was called. The case was dismissed but now they know they're pretty much untouchable.

 

[modn]

When I was a kid we split and stacked wood as part of our chores....and we liked it!


We mowed the grass.........and we liked it!


We washed the car.......and we liked it!


Did dishes........and we liked it!


Painted the house........and we liked it!


Punishment came in the form of a belt whipping........and we liked it!

AMEN to that!!!

Have him get a job somewhere else to earn money. When he gets home from work he can do his part of splitting/stacking wood for free, like he should. I hated it when I was a kid, but I sure do appreciate the work ethic my parents taught me and love them for it!!!

 

[modn]

Please don't pay your kid to do what you do for free. I made this mistake when my step-kids were younger (10 & 14) and now they won't do anything unless money is involved. My biological son (11 now) helps my wife and I with all chores without being asked and doesn't expect anything for it. The other two will sit in front of that nice warm stove and watch me or wife bring wood in and not even offer to help. Same goes for all the other work around the house. And yes arse whoopings were a part of their discipline until somebody at school told them I couldn't do that and CPS was called. The case was dismissed but now they know they're pretty much untouchable.

You need to take them to a children's home to see how you could react to them if they don't abide by the laws you give them. I don't agree with beating a kid, but in certain circumstances a spanking it is the only way a lesson can get through to them. I rarely spank my kids, but they know how it feels. Only threaten if you WILL follow through.

 

[bigoak00]

Pay should be involved if the work goes above and beyond the normal chore time that he would normally do. If he goes out and works hard with you all day then I believe minimum wage might be good. Great to go out and bond with your son while you put in a good day's work.

 

[ShoerFast]

Having brought high-school kids with on fire-wood deliveries with the notion that they would stack fire-wood where people wanted it for tips.

They loved the work, one job, a full cord thought the garage, around back and stacked it on there patio near there fireplace netted them each $50 bucks.

That spoiled them a little. But they were back, $50 dose not last a kid very long anymore.

My believe, a fair wage, and extra for a good job.

 

[cjcocn]

Chores are chores. I never got paid for chores when I was young, but if I ever failed to do them! Well, let's just say that CPS (or CFS here in Canada) wasn't around back then!

We keep chores as necessary work that doesn't earn money. If the girls want to earn extra money they have to take on extra work that doesn't fit into the "chore" bracket. That way they learn that even though they have a job that pays money, they still have to do extra work as a part of everyday living.

Btw, two of our girls seek outside work every chance they get. One has a regular part-time job, the other is still too young so just babysits and works casual at my wife's office. The third (and oldest at 16) doesn't do a damn thing except the bare minimum (chores), and otherwise seems to just relish in 16 year old angst.

 

[Husky137]

If my boys are helping around the house/yard, they don't get paid. If they help with work that I'm getting paid for, they get $8 an hour. And fed and clothed and a roof, yada,yada....

 

[ropensaddle]

When I was a kid we split and stacked wood as part of our chores....and we liked it!


We mowed the grass.........and we liked it!


We washed the car.......and we liked it!


Did dishes........and we liked it!


Painted the house........and we liked it!


Punishment came in the form of a belt whipping........and we liked it!

Yup but I will not say we always liked it we just never let
pops know whenever we did not. I am thankful discipline
was enacted in my youth now!

 

[TreePointer]

Reward the boy by getting him the chainsaw that you, er um, he has always wanted. :greenchainsaw:

 

[STLfirewood]

When I was a kid we helped on the farm and got nothing for doing it. It was expected. We would throw hay all day and watch dad pay my friends that helped while we received nothing. Didn't bother me a bit. When I was 11 and my brother was 12 dad broke his leg and was in a cast for a year. My brother and I fed 35 fatting cattle and another 40 head of regular cattle. Had to feed another 10-15 head of hogs also. Feeding the fatting cattle consisted of unloading the feed sacks and stacking in the barn. Then fedding about 750lbs of feed a night to them. Had to carry the feed through deep cow crap. We didn't have water going to the hog barn so that had to be carried in 5 gallon buckets. We had to feed every night rain sleet snow ice 0 degree weather didn't matter. We were each paid $135 for the year. The best thing it did for me was give me a new found respect for the old man. We had always helped but never had we carried the whole load. He did this every night after working 10hours at the car plant. Got to see a little of his world.

I was never paid for chores as a kid. But my parents gave me the resources to go make money. Loaned me the money to buy my first chainsaw. Let me cut wood and sell it on their property. Used their mower to cut grass and make money. When I was 15 I would load the truck up and dad would drive me to deliver the wood. The people would try and pay him. You should have seen the look on their face when he told them he was just the driver that I did the work. I say give your son every opportunity to make money with your tools. It's just a chainsaw you can buy another one if he hurts it. Let it be his own business and try not to give to much advice. He might surprise you with what he does.

Scott