AIBU to ask if you would give a 7 year old weekly pocket money and if so how much?

[akdmummy]

My nearly 7 yo DD has recently wanted to have some of her own money to spend as she wants. For example at the school fair she preferred me to give her a bit of money and then went off and made her own mind up as to what she spent it on. She understood that once it was all gone that was it.

She's gone to her Grandma's for a few days and without me knowing has taken a few pounds from her piggy bank with her to spend.

WIBU to give pocket money at this age and if so what would a reasonable amount be? Do people attach rules to receiving the pocket money (ie in exchange for doing little jobs) or do they just give it whatever?

Crikey! I got £5 per week at 16 way back when dinosaurs wandered the earth (or 1991).

Charity shops were my friend!

I have a 5yo and might start giving him pocket money too, about €1/week. There's a general tat shop just opened in town and he is itching to buy a giant fire engine, we'll see how good he is at saving.

£15 a week at aged 7 That's completely bonkers. Money has no meaning at that age and that amount.

My teenagers get less that that and it has to cover their mobile phones!!!!

£15 a week at aged 7 shock shock shock That's completely bonkers. Money has no meaning at that age and that amount.

I give him £10 he saves half in his bank and half he'll spend or keep in his little wallet until he saves for something bigger, he's doing well at saving for Lego and the more expensive toys he wants, he knows if he wants anything like that he has to buy it himself. The other £5 he gets from my mum, I can't stop that that's their thing (it mostly goes in the bank as well). I'm not bonkers just because I do things differently from you, maybe loosen your judgey pants a little.

My primary school had a "cafeteria" system instead of fixed school meals where there were 12 stores selling different types of food and students had to pay for them. Typical allowance (this was about 2 decades ago) was about £3 a day?

When do your DC go to the shops to spend this money?
My 7 year old has a subscription to Minecraft magazine, he's not that keen on sweets (still has loads of Easter Egg chocolate left) and puts toys he wants on his birthday/xmas list. We've thought about pocket money but not sure of the point when he doesn't actually have any opportunity to spend it.

£5 a week.

Last week he bought a spinner and the week before a large bag of jelly babies He has a Lego piggy bank. It is going for understanding of money ie pence and pound as well as the important life lesson that money does not grow on trees!

My 7 yo gets £7 per month paid directly to his bank account, not related to chores he is expected to do, but may be withheld for particularly bad behaviour (not happened yet). We pay separately for things like icecreams, rides at fairs etc.

We will not pay for Pokemon cards or fidget spinners! If he wants to buy something we take the passbook to the branch, withdraw the cash and he can see the balance of his account changing.

He also has a piggybank with change in it, that is his money and he can spend as he likes. I prefer payment to the bank rather than cash - we don't forget and there are fewer coins to get lost or left lying around the house. It's also good practise for when he's older, he is already familiar with using a bank, receiving interest and not spending more than he has in the account.

giraffe we walk to school in an urban area so he goes in the newspaper shop. If it is something that he has seen on tv etc that he wants then we search online together. See how much it costs. Discuss if it is worth it. Work out a saving plan if necessary then I pay after he has handed over the saved cash. Sounds mean and harsh but it is a life lesson. Plus I don't want a spoilt brat.

noblegiraffe DS mainly goes to Smyths or Toys r Us for toys, Game for Xbox/Wii U games, Amazon for fidget spinners (why he needs so many I don't know 🙄) and the shop around the corner for sweets or football cards. He also loves the acrcade which he uses his own money for.

My 9yo gets £5 a week when I remember and 5yo whatever change I have in my wallet, usually £2ish.

9yo also earn extra for doing helpful jobs (not everyday chores) - £10 last month for cleaning the car inside and out.

My 6 and 7 yr olds get 50p each if they've had a well behaved week. They also have the opportunity to earn extra 50ps for chores or exceptionally good behaviour (such as going and tidying their wreck of a room without any prompting)

I was terrible with money (and still am). I was never taught the importance of saving so now they have a money box for general spending (can access it when they like pretty much) and one of those tins you have to use a tin opener for. They now either put all money in the tin one or half in each. They know the tin one is for saving for something big and they can open it once a yr max with half of what's inside to spend and half to go in the bank

Im considering giving my 8 yr old : £4- £2 to save, £1 to spend,£1 to donate , dependent on chores too.

I think DD got £2 a week when 7. It started at £1 when she was 5 and went up by 50p on each birthday. Changed to a monthly allowance at 14.

DD has been having pocket money since she was 5. It was £1.50 per week then and went up to £2.50 a week when she turned 6. It's brilliant not getting nagged for tat whenever we go out. She's decided herself to save half.

DD is 7 and gets £2 per week. She can spend it however she wants but is she is saving up for something worth more than £9 or so, I match her savings. She is expected to be part of the team house-wise (tidies own room/mess, folds own clothes and puts away, 'helps' cook occasionally) but that is not expressly linked to her pocket money.

My 3 get £1 a month per year of age, at 7,9 and 10. Though DD7 only gets £4.50 at the moment as she signed up to sponsor a polar bear for a year... I find monthly makes them more careful as they know it has to last, but also gives them a bigger amount so If they do want something big they can buy it.

Dd gets £1 per week. And can earn a weekly £1 boost for a tidy room.

I use 'rooster money' app to give it to her electronically which works well. It means if she wants a magazine in the supermarket I can 'remove' the money from her rooster money 'account' but pay for the magazine with my normal shopping.

DS1 is 8.
I give him 10p per item on his chart. This means he can earn up to £3.50. If He gets all ticks he earns an extra £1.50 to take it to £5.
He has a wallet which.he keeps his money in.
He uses £2 of it on Wednesdays for youth club at the community centre and may take £1 every now and then for ice cream from the ice cream van, or he will save up if he wants something bigger. He currently has £10 in there.

My DS8 gets £5 per month. This is conditional on him being generally well behaved. He is expected to do some chores but doesn't get paid for them as that's all part of living with other people that he needs to learn.

My 4 didn't get pocket money at age 7 because if they needed anything I would buy it and if they wanted anything they would usually have money from birthdays/christmas or if we were on a day out I would give some spending money. They never went anywhere on their own to just spend it. I am a little shocked at the £5 a week at that age, theres some very rich 7 year olds about!

My 2 teens now get £30 a month, but they have to buy their own clothes (excluding school stuff and essentials). They also have to help with chores.

I started giving pocket money (£10 a month) from age 10. Once they were more independent and wanted to buy things, not just spend on a day out.

I got £10 a month at 7yo x but that was 15 years ago ...

I saved most of it though and ended up with £1200 by the time I was 17 - parents were gobsmacked lol

And every year of we wanted a 'raise' we had to draft a proposal in time for New Years with reasons why we deserved/needed the raise x sometimes we were declined and sometimes accepted x

@nickyschof at 17 I got £50 a month + phone contract, lunch/bus money - and I also had a part time job x

Although now I'm 22 and I still get an 'allowance' ...