My three are 16, 14 & 10.
Accordingly to Google the two oldest get above the national average and the youngest doesn't.
Any thoughts on a good system for deciding who gets what without giving ridiculous amounts i.e. £20 to a 16 year old "to me" is a lot.
4 hours a week at National Minimum Wage for a 16 year old?
Keep an eye on them when they're working though. Teenagers are notorious for slacking off.
I would say whatever feels right to you. I've explained to my kids that someone will always get more than them, some will possibly get less, but they get what we think is appropriate.
Makes no difference of course, they still complain but that's just kids being kids 🙂
Depends what it is for, i guess
16 and 14 yr olds get nothing. If they want money tell them to get a Saturday job. 10 yr old 2-3 pound a week but in return for a weekly chore such as washing the car.
Without making myself feel really old, £20 p/w is a lot. I was promoted to an allowance of £20 p/m at 13.
But really..
Do they do a rota or have allocated job to contribute to the house to earn that money? Even if it's just mowing the lawn, emptying the bins, etc.
What do they have to do with that money? DO you buy them casual/school clothes so this is all spending money?
What do you want them to do with it? The cinema is a lot more expensive than it used to be! My £20 p/m would have taken me to the cinema 5 times. Do they have to fund their hobbies out of it?
Can they supplement their income? I did a paper round from 13-16 then worked in a chippie. Do they/will they have that option?
So basically, comparing to a national average is a very simple yardstick.
My 15 year old gets nothing too.
We feel all the money spent on sports/phone/other rubbish is enough.
If she wants more, she can get a job!
My two are 7 and 9, they get £1 a week for being generally helpful and well behaved. I wouldn't trust them to do any actual chores yet, but when something comes up they can earn an extra 50p or so.
They get a quid off grandparents too most weeks. They do ok I reckon.
I got F all.
When I was a kid my pocket money used to be the equivalent cost of something like a pack of crisps and can of pop a day so I guess in today’s money that would be around a tenner a week. That was intended to be purely disposable money though, I wasn’t expected to buy my own clothes or stuff out of pocket money, those sort of things required a separate negotiation or a lot of saving on my part.
I had a part time job from 13 though which was around £25-£35 per week (present day equiv must be around £100pw) so the pocket money was only really relevant to pre teen years.
My 11yo gets £1 a week in return for being a generally nice human being, and has done for ages.
Recently I've agreed to double it on weeks where she comes to parkrun with me.
She gets silly amounts* from relatives when she sees them (which isn't too often) so isn't too hard done by.
*a tenner or more
Get a paper round..i know the local paper shop man and hes having to do the rounds himself more often as his paper boys pull sickies, dont turn up, dont want to work.
Best thing i ever did was the paper round in the cold, wet, dark mornings. I remember saving my first 50 quid and opening a bank account, i thought i d hit the big time.
When I was ~14 (late 80`s) I got the family allowance as pocket money (£14 a month). I worked in the village pub every sat and Sunday morning bottling up for which I got £15 each weekend plus a free sandwich and bottle of coke when I finished.
I remember being one of the richest kids in my year, buying my own bikes, Nintendo games etc when most others had to rely on their parents.
I got £50pm (1987) from that I had to fund my lunches and everything I wanted to do. Parents went 50/50 on clothes but I had weekly chores. Amount didn't change when I got a part time job, mind you I was 17.
It depends what else you give them, or expect them to pay for. If our 14-year-old goes into town we don't give her cash for bus fair or for food, because she gets pocket money.
8 yr old gets a fiver a week, 12 yr old gets £30 a month paid directly into her account.
pocket money for a 16yo! 😆
are you wanting to be dependent for life? 😆
When I was a lad, I used to get up 10 minutes before I went to bed and spend 25 hours down t'pit.
And for the privilege I used to give my Dad £10 a week.
Etc.
🙂
What worked for us was 50p per year old per week i.e. an 8 year old gets £4 per week, a 12 yr old gets £6 per week, etc.
14 year old boy ..he is making his own pocket money by working 3 evenings a week in the kitchen at a local hotel/ bar ..£50.00pw.
His school work hasn't suffered because of this and he is happy doing the work.
He buys himself nice clothes / trainers / PS4 games .
I'm pleased for him ..but his work ethic hasn't transferred to doing things at home !
We only gave money for chores done.
Our daughter tended to do chores when she wanted something and added it to birthday / xmas money, then stopped when she'd bought it.
Seems to have worked but it's a pain when I have to go back to doing allthe chores myself.
My 16 year old was getting £50 per month minus whatever phone contract she selected (she chose wisely so got about £35 in the bank each month). Once she'd sat her Highers she got a part time job and the allowance stopped. I still pay the phone though. 10 yr old gets £2 a week, 7 year old gets £1.50. They both have a daily job to do.
I did not get pocket money, I had a Weekend job from the age of 11 (1985) helping my brother and his colleague fit double gazing for a fiver a day. I did it till 16 when I think I was getting £15 a day.
I remember turning up at school on a Monday with £30 in my wallet I felt like Richard Branson.
8 yr old gets a fiver a week, 12 yr old gets £30 a month paid directly into her account.
WTF does a 8 yr old need £5 a week for!? sweets?
WTF does a 8 yr old need £5 a week for!? sweets?
Around here fags, rizzla, weed. They must be on a fortune.
I have friends that are pushing 40 who still talk about what they're going to do with their "christmas and birthday money combined" with a completely straight face.
Makes me want to punch them.
12 and 14 yr old get £20 a month, in return for table clearing, hoovering and tidying room and cooking one meal a month. The can earn more through chores.
16 yr old gets that and £40 allowance for clothes a month - we buy school uniform, undercrackers and socks, waterproofs. Rest is his buy. They get this at 15.
At 16 I earned £28.00 a week working full time as a butchers apprentice on the markets and paid £10.00 a week keep .
Kids today ......
Oh, and they buy their own phones and tech, and any top up above £10 a month.
WTF does a 8 yr old need £5 a week for!? sweets?
So she can save it up and buy something if she wants it. We won't let her spend it on sweets.
jambourgie - Member
I have friends that are pushing 40 who still talk about what they're going to do with their "christmas and birthday money combined" with a completely straight face.
I do this, but in my defence it's the only time of year (Birthday is the week before xmas) that I have any money to spend on myself.
The rest of the year my disposable income amounts to about £15 a month to spend on anything fun, including drinks, snacks, clothes and bike parts.
Going rate was ~£5 a week in 1992.
House prices have gone up ~4.5x since then... So ~£22.50
But Brexit... So £4.50? 😈