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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Teenagers/ jobs/ money

38 replies

mopbucket · 09/04/2012 14:59

Just thinking the other day and i got a saturday job at 16 i got £20 per saturday and had to give step mum £10 per week for bed and board, i then at 17 had driving lessons and spent my other £10 per week on lessons.

Fast forward to now and my children are 14 and 15 and i wouldnt expect them to pay me anything from a saturday job, i pay into their banks £25 per week to allow them to focus on their studys

Do any mn get bed and board from their teenage children?

OP posts:
Mrsjay · 09/04/2012 15:03

my teen has a part time job and at college and still lives at home a little older than your 2 I dont take any money from her but she is expected to get herself to college put petrol in her car , I dont give her any money . she didnt have a job at school they are like hens teeth these days . I had to pay my mum money out of a YTS when i left school at 16 i think i got 27.50

CecilyP · 09/04/2012 15:05

Seems a bit mean of your step-mum to expect bed and board money from the wages of a Saturday job. It is different if they are working full time or even substantial part time hours and have a reasonable wage, then I would, and did, expect it.

Greenshadow · 09/04/2012 15:05

£25 a week ! For a 14 year old! What do they spend it on?

TidyDancer · 09/04/2012 15:06

Well my eldest is 6, so I'm not quite sure how I'd do it!

£25 a week for children of that age is insane!

2shoeskickedtheeasterbunny · 09/04/2012 15:06

a lot of teens can't get jobs. ds never could, they are bloody hard to find, especially if you live in a university town like we do.
but in answer to your question, I would not have taken keep from a part time job.

dreamingofsun · 09/04/2012 15:07

if my son at 18 isn't at uni he will be paying me lodging - amount will depend if he's out of work or has a job. i'm hoping this will act as an incentive to do something better with his life.

namechangingagain · 09/04/2012 15:08

there are no jobs but no, DS is looking for one and if he finds one, its so that he can stop expecting me to be a money pit buy himself some concert tickets, and have some fun.

Original poster
mopbucket · 09/04/2012 15:08

Well i used to put £15 on their lunch card at school and £10 pocket money

They do dishwasher, own ironing, clean animals out, sort own room out and cook tea 1 night a week

I now just put £25 into their bank and if they need something they make packed lunch and save the £15 Smile

OP posts:
ragged · 09/04/2012 15:09

Who pays for the teen's car insurance & VEC, MrsJay?
I moved out when my mom threatened to charge me board, lol.

brightermornings · 09/04/2012 15:09

My ds 17 has finally for his first part time job. I won't be taking any board off him but he's just passed his test so will be giving me money for petrol. I also expect him to pay for his own activities football cinema etc.

MrsPresley · 09/04/2012 15:11

My DS is 18 and not working Sad at the moment. I think he gets around 50pound a week job seekers but I dont take anything from him.

Out of that he has to buy his clothes, look for work (bus fares) etc

I buy all the food and pay all bills although he does pay his own mobile bill, thankfully!

He never asks me to give him more money but he will borrow and pay back if he needs to.

He's quite good at helping around the house and will do stuff that he sees needs doing, washing, hoovering etc when I'm at work although if I'm at home I have to ask him to do it Hmm

I dont mind him not paying anything as gas, electric etc would just be the same if he wasn't there

I supose my food bill would be a lot bit less though Grin

Once he gets a job he will pay dig money Smile

2shoeskickedtheeasterbunny · 09/04/2012 15:12

oh when ds was on JSA i took £15 a week, it was so he didn't get to "comfortable" not that it covered his keep iynwim

bruffin · 09/04/2012 15:13

My Ds was 16 last September so yr 11 and has worked since October. He did his Nplq and now does casual work at the sports centre including life guarding.
We don't ask him for rent or anything like that, but he did pay back £100 which half the cost of the course and he had also funded most of his DofE gold. If he wants more expensive branded clothes we pay half.
He gets about £40-£50 a session, some weeks he may get 2 sessions other weeks he gets nothing

noddyholder · 09/04/2012 15:15

My ds has never managed to find a job he is desperate for one! I don't think I would take money from him as he is still at college and I would just love him to have teh experience and independence of work

Original poster
mopbucket · 09/04/2012 15:18

My thoughts too noddyholder

OP posts:
BellaVita · 09/04/2012 15:19

I had a Saturday job (a long time ago now) but my parents never took any money off me. I had to do chores at home, but all the basics were bought for me and "some clothes" but if I wanted something say like a ra ra skirt that was in fashion then I would have to pay for it myself.

My 12.5 yr old gets £20 per month and my 15 yr old gets £40. They need to pay for their top ups out of this - £5 DS2 and £10 DS1.

They alternate days for unloading/reloading the dishwasher and bringing the washing down. DS2 would be able to cook tea but as for DS1...

BellaVita · 09/04/2012 15:21

Oh and we live in a village - so paper rounds etc are far and few between. He did ask but they were all taken. His friend gets £40 a week for delivering papers.

Fourwallsmovingin · 09/04/2012 15:22

I had a Saturday job from 15 - parents gave me £40 a month on top, I saved it all up and within a year had enough to go on a round the world trip.

I moved out of home at 17, and my parents paid £100 a month into my bank account until I was 21, as they said if I was still living at home I'd be costing them a lot more than that.

I would not take money off my children, and probably like my parents would give on top of their wages while at the bottom of the career ladder.

JosephineCD · 09/04/2012 15:23

£25 a week for a 14 year old is insane. I think the EMA did a lot to make parents think they should be giving their children much more money than before. £10 a week should be more than enough. Jobs aren't that hard to come by for motivated teenagers if they aren't too picky. Just register with every agency they can and take whatever they are offered.

usualsuspect · 09/04/2012 15:25

Jobs are very hard to get for teenagers where I live.

BackforGood · 09/04/2012 15:25

I wouldn't take money off them from a PT job they got whilst studying, but I would once they had left education.
£25 a week seems a massive amount to be giving 14 and 15 yr olds every week ! Mine don't get that much per month.

There's another thread running about teenagers and money at the moment Here

2shoeskickedtheeasterbunny · 09/04/2012 15:27

pmsl at jobs not being hard to come by for school kids.
depends where you live

HappyMummyOfOne · 09/04/2012 15:29

I wouldnt take board from a part time job, may take it if working full time and save it unbeknown to DS.

only4tonight · 09/04/2012 15:29

I really don't understand parents who don't want their teenagers to work part time. It's not just the independence its that when it comes to getting a "proper" job for the first time employers know that have been able to keep a job, turn up on time, can provide a reference, have experience in dealing with people etc.

I know part time work is hard to come by and I would support my child to the best of my ability if they were trying to find work and couldn't. But I wouldn't be making their life easy if they just couldn't be arsed. It does them no favours in the long term imho.

marriedinwhite · 09/04/2012 15:30

OK - no I would not take money from a teenagers Saturday job and neither did my mother. Athough when I lived with her for a few months when I was working, she did take housekeeping from me.

DS 17. Last summer he was very lucky and did land himself a job in the holidays (caddying) and was paid a very good daily rate plus tips. He could have done this at weekends throughout the entire year but he plays sport for school first teams and for a couple of clubs and combined with his 6th form studies it is a non runner. He might get out a few Sundays over the summer but will only be in London for about two to three weeks before he goes back to school. He gets £80pcm paid into his bank account and has no overdraft facility and we have refused a credit card. He gets other stuff as we see fit (not excessive). We are paying for driving lessons.

DD: almost 14 gets £25 per month from me. DD has had a little job since she was 8 and can clear about £80 a summer and earns a couple of pounds a week. Money sticks to DD.

DS bought himself a leather jacket and some trendy stuff out of the money he earnt last summer but generally I am happy to pay for their clothes. Am lucky because neither seem to expect much.