Should you ever pay your children to perform chores? 

It’s a question that many parents grapple with as their children get older. 

Should they be asked to help out around the house? And if so, should their work be linked to pocket money? 

For Lisa O’Sullivan Shaw, a mother of four, the answer is a very firm no. 

“There’s just basic stuff around the house that everyone needs to do [in] a family of six,” she told Lunchtime Live. 

“Everyone needs to pull in together and row in. 

“I don’t pay my boys; I don’t expect to pay them for doing a chore that leads to giving them responsibility themselves. 

“Everyone’s expected to do little things around the house.” 

A mother giving her children pocket money. Picture by: Alamy.com

Ms O’Sullivan Shaw admitted her children are certainly “not fans” of helping out around the house.  

“They wouldn’t be the first ones running to do it,” she said. 

“But they just have to do it. We all have to do things in life.” 

She added that reminding them to do so continues to be a “major hassle” and that they “complain left, right and centre” about it.  

“But we could travel the length and breadth of the country with them [for] hurling and football, soccer and whatever,” she said. 

“They don’t go without anything; so, they’re told all this. 

“‘Training is tonight at 7PM, we’re not going anywhere till the dishes are put away and the floor is done and all your stuff is ready. 

“And it’s done then.” 

'Well worth paying for'

Father of three Adrian Barry said there is “basic stuff” that all children - including his own should do in their households. 

However, he has also started paying his neighbours' children to carry out work in his garden. 

“The garden needs regular attention,” he said. 

“They were brilliant and they cleaned it, raked [it], all the stuff in the bin.” 

Mr Barry said in comparison to a professional landscaper, they were “well worth paying for”.

Main image: A child with a cat. Picture by: Alamy.com