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?

£80 a week is £4,160 a year!! Over 4 grand a year!!! AND you buy clothes and toiletries!??

Can you adopt me please. I would LOVE that much spending money!

I can't work out if you are genuinely stupid, having a laugh or just lying for attention

or a journalist

Actually just realised my and Dh dont even get £80 a week spends!

Ridiculous!! My 17 year old gets £50 per week (termtime only) and works 12 hours a week for it.

I am 29 and don't have £80 spends a week. After all the bills are done, I maybe have £50 and that's to cover me and my 3yr old

Do you want to adopt me?

My Ds is 16 next month and gets £15 per month, plus phone paid (£12 per month) and clothes and toiletries as needed. I honestly don’t think he could spend £80 per week!! What does your Ds spend it on??

He's 100% bulshitting you. No chance.

He wouldn't earn 80 a week in a Saturday job.
It's a joke.

Stop the free cashflow and he'll soon get himself a Saturday job. You could even offer to match his wage.

Both £80 and £200 are insane amounts unless you're some sort of upper class toff.

What exactly does the child NEED (not want, need.)
Is this some sort of phone bill, or is it paying all its own dinner money?

Or is this just money to spend on 'going out' (not alcohol, I assume) or clothing?

£80 is a lot!

Our DD is 16 - we give her £120 per month plus we pay for her phone, gym, Spotify and Netflix (although tbf we've started using the Netflix subscription too!) so about £220 all in.

I buy in her packed lunch bits and she makes it.

We also buy her toiletries and clothes. I would say about £50£60 per month on clothes....give or take.

Since she's moved into 5th year there have been more nights out/parties and I was toying with the idea of giving her £150 per month but no more as she's got a couple of expensive school and Scouting trips coming up.

I should say I had 3 jobs from the age of 14 but I was one of these lucky kids that didn't need to study and sailed through exams, DD is such a hard worker but it doesn't always translate into the results she wants (she has dyslexia also which doesn't help). So we've told her not to worry about getting a job until next year and concentrate on her studies for now.
If she in any way acted as if she was entitled to anything I would stop funding her and make her get a job but she's so grateful for everything and does work hard studying and volunteering locally.

To be honest, with drugs so readily available to teenagers, the less freely-available money they have the better, in my eyes.

£80 a week?
More money than sense!

Baloney

Wow this post has made me feel incredibly poor I'm wondering if OP would like to adopt me? I could really do with £80 a week spends

I’d be concerned at where a 16 year old was spending £80 per week, tbh. Do you know?

My 18 year old niece gets 20 quid a month, has to buy all clothes & run a car. My dsis & BIL are multi-millionaires.

I always thought Dsis is tight with money, but in my head about 50 quid a month seemed like a good number.

Our DC get £80 a week - to pay their rent at uni (and that’s only because it’s necessitated by the student loans company)!! At sixteen they would hang around chilling with their mates at home and couldn’t possibly have burned through £80 a week.

DD 15 gets £32 a month for clothes and stuff I don't think is necessary, I pay for dance lessons, mobile phone, school and dance uniform. DD has a well-off friend who gets £150 a week.

£80 a week!!!

My 17 yr old pays me £30 a week rent...

Admittedly a few years ago, but DS managed to save enough to go on a lads holiday at the end of sixth form off £40 a month for us and about £20 a week from a part time job. Unless he’s feeding himself, paying for a phone, buying all his clothes, toiletries, transport then £80 is excessive let alone £200!

I am considerably older than 16 and I don't even fucking earn £200 a week!

I echo your bullshit and raise you a 'you what?!

Seriously this has to be a joke? Why in gods name would he get a job whne you are paying him £80 a week plus clothes etc?? Hes got it made!!!
I had a job from 15, worked for £2.81 an hour in a local shop (this was 17 years ago) and i paid board from 18 just before i left for Uni. My parents bought food as they cooked for the whole family but other than that if i wanted something i paid for it. Its stood me in good stead for adult years and instilled a bloody good work ethic.
You are completely enabling your son to sit on his arse and do nothing but sponge off you!

Our ds is 17 and works after school tutoring and doing deliveroo when he can. We help him with his fortnightly driving lessons but if he has earned enough he gives us the money back. I'm appalled that people seem to think it's ok to hand over what is a days wages for a lot of people to a spoilt child 😡

What does he spend his money on?!

I used to spend my cash from my job and pocket money on the odd item of clothing, going out and booze. I hope your ds has higher aspirations than I had. Personally I wouldn’t want my child to have that much money, let alone £200 (which frankly is a ridiculous amount of money) without knowing what they are spending it on. The only way I’d give that much is if I were stinking rich and it was for a property in my child’s name.

I find it mad that I was working for £4 an hour at Burger King at the age of 16.. and your child gets £80 for doing nothing.

My mum would never have just given that to me she wouldn't have been able to afford it but still wouldn't have dared. I was allowed to use toiletries she had bought, but had to buy everything else myself.

He should think himself lucky but nothing is going to change if he isn't doing anything to earn the money.