My husband and I have not started giving my step-kids an allowance yet (ages 5 and 7) because they don't "get it." We've tried it in the past and it doesn't work. Usually, they show one another the money and then hand it back to us. Coins for occasional help with tasks works a bit better because they like to put it in their banks.

I remember that an allowance started to seem important to me around 4th grade when I was occasionally allowed to go out with my friends to the movies or bowling (yes, by ourselves, different time in a very small town). In middle school, an allowance was a key part of my existence.