If DC are 9-12, do you do pocket money?

[Tygertiger]

And if so how much and what do you expect them to buy with it? DC are 10 and 12 and currently don’t get pocket money. I buy all their stuff plus if they want trinkets etc they might do additional jobs to earn money to pay for them (on top of basic things they are expected to do like dishwasher emptying etc). Wondering if I should start giving pocket money and interested to hear other’s approaches.

Yes - nearly 10yo DD gets £3 a week paid onto a card, she usually saves it up and buys herself lego or toys. She has general jobs to do - tidying up after herself (washing in basket, tidy room etc), clearing the table after dinner, joining in with cleaning and dusting on the weekend etc - but we don’t particularly link this to the pocket money.

We did pocket money from ~5 or 6. Started with £1 per week, increasing over time.
I think it is good for children to learn to budget / make choices. DD2 used to go round the charity shops and toy shops and decide did she want this cuddly toy, or that ornament, or save longer to buy a dfferent new toy from the toyshop.

Once they were secondary age we moved to monthly into their nationwide account, at that point it was ~£15 / month but inflation may mean that is too little these days.

12yo DS gets £6 per week. It r really works for us - he saves up for some things and sometimes buys small things that he happens to see. It means we don't get hassled!

Oh, pocket money is generally separate from general chores for us. I sometimes ask for help with specific things, and we have an agreed hourly rate for that.

We use go henry so my dd has an app and get £5 a week (11) younger one gets £4 in cash so he can physically get used to money. We will swap him to go henry at 10

Thanks all. Is Go Henry the only option? You have to pay for it?

Just to add that kids can get a basic bank account with a bank card from age 11.

From 11 my kids had teen card accounts from the bank

11yo gets £5 a week on a revolut card. He buys any sweets/magazine/treats he wants. Occasionally he saves up to buy an item of clothing or bigger ticket he wants.

I still buy all school supplies and clothes as and when needed.

Try hyperjar. I'm really impressed with it and it's free. Mine get £2 per week. I encourage them to save. One tends to spend on fripperies. One saves.

If they have the app then they can set their own "jars" I think. Jars are like pots of different money.

hyperjar.com/

Dd gets £5 per week and it’s for things I would not pay for
tuck shop at school, videogame currency, mangas, the occasional soft toy or game
if we go on a day out we pay for snacks (same as we pay for ours) but she pays for souvenirs
if she goes out with her friends, we may pay for an activity, but snacks are paid by her
chores are expected as part of living at home
however there are some extra chores where we offer extra money

We got ours a HSBC bank account each and gave them £10 a month.

I would second using hyperjar. It's totally free and so easy to use. My almost 10yr old gets £2 a week put onto her card which seems like enough at the moment as it's purely for little extras she might want when we're out.

My 11yo has a starling card (linked to mine) and get £5 a week. I was thinking about increasing it soon but being a bit stricter with what it covers - I definitely still buy a lot of things that could be ‘pocket money’ purchases

Yes, it's an incentive for good behaviour/chores. They get around £3-5 a week each depending on said behaviour/chores. Aside from essentials, books and birthdays/xmas I don't buy things for them. Generally they use it for Lego, Robux etc

DD11 gets £40 a month between me and her dad, she's got a child's account with a debit card. We still buy anything she NEEDS, anything frivolous she buys for herself, something that comes somewhere between want and need we'll split it

My ten year old gets £15 a month which will go up to £20 when he's 11 next month. Its on a Starling card linked to mine which is £2 a month. Maybe when he goes to secondary we'll move to a teen account but I like the visibility and control this gives me while he's learning to manage his money.

It mostly goes on pokemon cards, ceramic dragons and random stuff from Kenji. When he goes to secondary school I'll increase it but he'll have to buy sweets etc from it.

Yes 11 year old gets 4.50 a week which goes straight into her bank account. She uses it for any extra clothes, make up , snacks etc she wants . I still buy her all the clothes/toiletries she needs .
I think its good for children to learn how to manage money.

9yo gets £10 a month. He rarely spends he. He and some of his friends discuss how much they have saved up 😁

Hyperjar is just like Go Henry but free. Mine started getting a few quid on it a week from about age 9. I buy everything they need so it's literally just for extra bits. Not related to chores, they are a separate expectation.

DD12 gets £20 per week. We live in the city centre so she has more opportunity to spend it. We buy needs and she buys wants such as extra clothes, Starbucks or bubble tea with friends etc

We got fed up with the DC pestering for things all the time so we started pocket money when they were quite little. They're now 10 and 7. They get £10 a month each into their bank accounts. The first couple of months they blew it on magazines and crappy toys but they quickly realised it was better to save up for things they really want.

We buy things like art supplies and the odd book, maybe something from the gift shop on days out. Anything else they want outside of birthdays and Christmas they buy themselves. It's definitely made them think about whar they really want.

When the eldest turns 11 we will upgrade his account to one with a card and also increase the amount as he'll be starting to go out with friends so his money will need to cover the odd snack or cinema ticket or whatever he chooses to do. I'm thinking probably £25 per month sounds about right.

Yes. I buy everything they need (and a huge amount of what they want 🤣🤦‍♀️) but DC also get £3.50 a week to do whatever they like with except junk food. It’s nice for them to sometimes be able to say “Well mum thinks its tat and won’t buy it for me but I’m gonna use my own money and get it anyway.”

Mostly they just enjoy hoarding it but occasionally they’ll suddenly buy a light sabre or similar.

10 and 12 are very different ages!

At 10, it was a small amount of pocket money each week, but once they got to secondary school age they got a monthly allowance and their own bank accounts - which was to include socialising, buying presents, any clothes/makeup over and above basics, plus paying for their phone, to reflect the growing independence in their lives.

As a child I hated asking my parents for money. The inevitable question is "why" so you always have to justify it.

Was £5 on to go Henry card until 13, when I started giving them £10. Extra on holidays when I am quite happy for them to fuck off to fuckity ville with their friends. 🤪