My 16 year old has just told me...

[itwasadarkandstormy]

... that all his friends are given £200 a week by their parents as spending money. I'm calling bullshit.

Actually, I feel like I've had the stuffing knocked out of me. I thought I was generous at about £80 a week.

So, AIBU?

I got £0 a week at 16 (four years ago); I had to get a job and pay for everything, including school lunches. Only things that were paid for were school trips (didn’t have any at A Levels) and I could use any food in house but if I wanted something specific then I had to buy it. Until I got a job I wasn’t given any money, but my mum did replace my makeup I think (was drugstore though). But I definitely don’t think his friends get £200 a week!!!

Stop and think op what you are raising!

No idea if his friends have that much showered on them and if so how very sad. Awful parenting to throw money at kids whether you have it or not.

All my 4 got part time jobs at 16 as did all of their friends. To be honest it was a pain for us as parents as we were dropping them early says morning and picking up late ( 2 kitchen porters) but it taught them so much and helped them bridge the divide between childhood and adulthood.

Please don’t spoil your lad. Of course you can still treat him but let him grow into a man not a spoilt man child.

Incidentally any parent giving a 16 year old £200 is insane or guilty of thinking throwing money at children is akin to spending time and thought on that child.

You should tell him that you've been thinking it over and decided that £80 a week is too much. From now on he will get £80 a month. Anything else he must earn himself by getting a job. That should teach him two things: 1) Not to be greedy, and 2) The value of money when it has to be earned.

Kids do have more expensive tastes nowadays - we used tunnel make up, teenagers nowadays use MAC and othe rexpensive brands that I can’t wven afford as a grown up!

Tough fucking shit.

It's a rite of passage to start off with the shit stuff and work your way up.
How do kids nowadays learn any sort of humility or ability to live on a budget when you are basically saying
"Don't worry, you need expensive stuff, even though you are a teen"
No wonder so many of em are spoilt shits.

What will your kids do, never having to have had to make do, when they need to save money, and can't spend it on luxuries like expensive make up, or flash trainers.

Oh my God!
From 15-18 I got £30 a month!! (about 10 years ago, but very "nice" middle class area, private school etc!)
That was for clothes, makeup, going out etc but I saved most of it to buy my viola!

Dd is 16 tomorrow. She gets £35 per month plus a £9.50 per month phone contract & school lunches. In addition I provide all essential clothes & toiletries & a set of school stationery at the start of the year.

Wow... I earned (barely) £200 per week part time as a freelancer and there are people (sorry, kids, to be precise!) getting £200 per week?! Whaa..?

O.k. Then. Not sure about that. Yes, there are people out there whose parents are earning that much to allow them to be spoilt that much, but at aged 16 I had a part time job to earn my own money and learn the value of it.

He must be laughing all the way to his piggy bank getting £80 per week! What on earth does he spend it on? Does he do chores to earn it? (Sorry, not read the whole thread).

You give your child £4000 a year?!

WHY?!

OP that's absolutely mad! We do £25 a month at that age and they get a part time job when they hit Y12!

My ds gets £25 a month.

I also pay his mobile phone, but I see that as a benefit to me as well as him.

Food at school is a family food item and I top up his school card from family fund.

Admittedly we also tend to buy his clothes although if he wanted anything expensive I'd expect him to save up, use birthday/Christmas money or ask for it as a present.

It's difficult to find a job until you're 16 these days, though I had a Saturday job at 15.

Absolute bollocks, WTF.

I used to get £5 a week pocket money as a teen - and that was for doing chores!

Wow £80 is way more than he needs. £10-20 or he earns it. No way will his friends get £200. Id reduce how much he gets as its alot.

BrieandChilli that's a ridiculous post. No one needs to have an expensive phone or use MAC make up. Just because some parents are idiotic enough to pay for these things, doesn't make it the norm.

I assume he pays you rent, buys his own clothes and toiletries and pays for all his outings or activities out of that £80 op?

If not....words fail me.

Bloody hell, I don't spend £80 per week in any old shit for myself.

Per month not week

Another “wind it up and watch it go” post. Drive-by threads are getting tedious. If you want a discussion on how much pocket money people give, then just phrase it like that without the bullshit drama 🙄

My first thought would be drugs if my teen wanted that much money.

What do you think he wants it for OP?

The same goes for £80 per week frankly.

that was surrey btw!

So you buy clothes and toiletries ? He's buying drugs. If this is true.

My 17 year old gets £500 a month. That's because she has a job and earns it herself whilst studying for her A Levels.
Pocket money (£20 a month) stopped as soon as she could earn herself.

80 smackers geez. I used to have a Saturday job from much younger than that in parents store. Dd is nearly 15. She aint getting 80 quid 😂😂😂😂😂😂

When mine were in sixth form they got £20 a week for entertainment and non essential clothes. That was more than many of their friends got and was considered quite generous. They also got jobs to top it up.

And yeah, as PP's, think about it op, at 16, had I been lucky enough to have £80 disposable income, it would have been spent on weed, fags, cider and pills.

Mine get a fiver, plus ten pounds a month from GPs. As they are still in school they don't have rent, utilities, internet, TV licence, travel, council tax or insurance to pay for. Their food is even provided free for them, and toiletries, plus their own phones.

There really isn't much they actually need outside of that.

I think £35 per month is generous. Dd can't get a Saturday job as she has Saturday morning school.