Pocket money for 15 year old

The people I know who did this - I'm in my 40s - were doing post-16 vocational qualifications in office work, they weren't doing it whilst still at school. I've never worked in an office which even took on work experience kids under 16, as insurance etc makes things complicated.

Though, tbf, some of my friends were doing evening shifts in a call-centre after school when they were 15 cold-calling people about double glazing, which doesn't feel like it should have been legal.

Dd 16 and ds 17 get a measly £20. They don’t go out or buy their own clothes or toiletries. I pay their mobile bill and clubs.
I’d always said that I would increase it when they start going out socially, but it’s looking like they’ll have at least a PT job when it comes to it (dd16 will be able to get a paid job in the 6th form). They each have a lot of savings as we give them a generous amount for birthdays.

Dd 14 gets £50/ month and we pay for phone, schoolunches and most but not all clothing. She also has a Saturday job related to her sport.

DS 17 gets £120/ month and as above but he’s at college in town and everything is much more expensive. We pay for his bus pass as well and driving lessons. He’s costing us a fortune! He also works as a ref and gets paid well! That’s money saving for his gap year.

Feeling super stingy as my 15 year old gets £6 a week, £7 really but save a pound a week to buy Christmas presents for the family. He only really buys donuts and the odd thing in a game.
He earned £250 in the summer doing odd jobs for neighbours and will probably get a Saturday job through DH in the summer.

My teens get £45 a month but this is their full allowance that covers their clothes as well as social lives. We pay £6 a month SIM cards plus bus fare to school/college.

The job market it hard for teens. It's hard for everybody so they are competing with uni graduates and school leavers. My oldest got a job post GCSEs and was then looking for something full time after finishing A levels back in June. He has an apprenticeship now which is great but it has taken a lot of applications and interviews and he was getting rejected from min wage retail work that he had 2 years experience in. Obvs doesn't get an allowance any more!

My 17 year old hasn't even looked. Mental health shit plus neurodiverse shit so I'm supporting sorting that stuff out before they even think about getting a job. They do volunteer once a week though so being a useful member of society!

Youngest is 14 so not thought about a job yet.

Currently £40 pcm but that will rise to £100 when she turns 16. She'll be responsible for a lot more of her own outgoings on that and should hopefully help prepare her for uni spending.

14 yo DD gets £275 plus we pay for SIM card and top up school dinner money as and when (usually takes packed lunch)

this includes £7.50 p/w train fare to her therapy session and £6p/w for her CrossFit class.
She covers all her expenses. Clothes/make up/toiltries/socialising/spotify/kobo/hair cuts.

we will provide a suitable winter coat and all education related expenses.

amount has steadily increased since starting secondary school with her taking on more responsibilities for purchasing items as money increased. She budgets very sensibly and has savings.

we arrived at the amount working out an estimate of average monthly costs

£50 per month pocket money and. £50 clothing excluding shoes and coats, telephone and transport, we live in London and DD seems to struggle to make it last until the end of the month. Sometimes top up with pet setting and watering plants, etc. Need her to advertise her services more.

We give £50 plus clubs, sports lessons, Spotify subscription, dinner money, phone and essential clothes on top. He saves quite a bit of it.

I'd love to see someone try to get Odeon or Vue to put them on payroll without a National Insurance number (bearing in mind they are also too young to serve at the bar and too young to enter a screen showing an 18 rated film). I needed one to get a job in 2001 at 16! DH worked at 14 but it was dodgy cash in hand at a garden centre.

I used to do school holiday childcare for a family friend but again they wanted me to be 16.

We live rurally, and places are crying out for teens. Both of mine had jobs at 15 - one in a tearoom, and one in a farm shop.

Dd is 16 now and has two jobs. She's still at the tearoom on a Sunday, but also has a job at the cinema.

Sounds like it's a lot harder in city areas.

Its become much much harder for teens to get jobs. Employers don't want them, parents increasingly choose to pay dbs vetted agency babysitters or nursery staff £14 an hour to babysit when the 14 or 15 year old next door would be thrilled with £6/hour

£50 a week, that includes money for their lunches at school. We live in London - it doesn't go far.

I sometimes buy them mid range clothes but they have to put money aside for anything 'luxury'.

£10 a week for my 14yr old. He also gets Spotify paid for, phone contract paid for, PlayStation subscription paid for and his gym paid for. This is purely his money if he wants a takeaway and we say no, or he wants to do something with his friends or wants to buy a game etc.

My dd got £40 a month at that age but I also covered pretty much everything she needed plus gave her extra if she was going to the cinema or similar.

She got a Saturday job at 16.

Mine got their child benefit, phone and a bus pass.

Mine get £100 a month. Twins aged 15. It's fun and clothes money basically. I pay for everything else. They both have jobs too 3-4 hours a week related to their sport. I think I'm generous so I expect them to save too.

Paper rounds still exist, my 15 year old has done one for two years. The shop are constantly advertising because most don't stick at it. £25 a week to get up at 6am 7 days a week and go out on a bike in all weathers. But he doesn't mind and has saved nearly £2k and bought himself an amp.

My DD babysat from age 14, starting with people we knew, or helping out while a parent was there, and then building on that experience, now going into professional nannying.

Dd2 got an ocassional/ad hoc job in an art gallery at 15 having gone round with her CV with 'predicted' in very small font under her GCSEs.

I give them £30 a month but they barely use it. Dd1 is now 19 and at uni and has £35 a week for food and laundry. So some kids are definitely getting too much.

We pay phone contracts, essential clothing and transport costs for them all.

DS got £40 a week at 15 as long as he studied properly.

Another person who doesn’t have a clue.
i worked in a fast food chain when i was 15 sadly now because of insurance reasons its 16 and some even 18.
When I was a teen many of the lads worked down the markets helping set them up etc again today it’s all to do with insurance. Some may take the odd one on by paying cash but if they hurt themselves they would be screwed if they had the incorrect insurance, which is why many don’t take the risk.

The self-checkouts in supermarkets have removed the need for extra checkout staff.

So so hard for young people to get jobs. So many entry level jobs just don't exist any more.
How many 40 somethings got their first job as an office junior running around making tea for meeting and taking bits of paper here and there. Teams calls & Email has killed those jobs too.

This Christmas not a single supermarket anywhere near us has hired seasonal staff, which is how my oldest got his foot in the door at Tesco. My DS17 hasn’t got a job. I can’t see anyone asking him to babysit. He doesn’t drink and dislikes alcohol so bar work is out as well.

When he was 15 I gave him £30 a month, and I expected him to stack the dishwasher, clear plates, help carry in shopping and generally keep his room tidy, all of which he did. We pay for his phone and his martial arts and other activities. He is not remotely interested in clothes so I just buy him what he needs; he’s not bothered about anything more. He basically saves most of it. I now give him £50 out of which he pays £15 for his gym. I still pay him back for haircuts etc.I know many families give more, but he’s never asked for more and he has enough for a monthly trip to town with his mates to their favourite burger place.

His grandparents give him money usually about once a month - £10 usually.

£15 a week

It’s a struggle for most 16-17 year olds to get a job in my busy SE town let alone 15 year olds. My goddaughter is 17 years old, she is working part time whilst studying at college, however it took her over a year, and more than 100 applications, to secure part time work. Additionally, she is on zero hours contract and has only worked 3 shifts since the beginning of December, as preference given to older, permanent workers. It really is not that easy for teenagers these days.