Who does this money belong to ?

[BurpeesAreTheWorkOfTheDevil]

You give a child (9) £10 for spending money on school trip.
Child spends £6.

Who does the £4 belong to?

The parent or the child?

Parent technically but I wouldn't actually want the money back

Child

Parent.

Child. Mine always offers change back, knowing I will say to keep it. Then we both feel good about the outcome.

Child

Parent!

With 3 DCs we'd be broke if we let them keep the change every time we handed over a note for something like this!

The child. Pretty stink if you take back the £4, if I did that next time my kid would just buy some cheap rubbish instead of being responsible and saving it.

With 3 DCs we'd be broke if we let them keep the change every time we handed over a note for something like this!

Same. I really do think it depends somewhat on the parents financial situation.

Haha no, it's not an argument with the child, the 9 year old is my best only behaved one of 4.

It's an argument between her parents, one of us things it be,Inge to the parent who gave it to her, one thinks it's hers because it was given.

The others will get the same amount for their trips so it's not unfair to them

unless money is really tight, child.

taking it back is either an incentive to spend it all on sweets and crap, or its reminding the child that money is very tight and i'm giving you this but really i want it all back so please dont actually spend it

With 3 DCs we'd be broke if we let them keep the change every time we handed over a note for something like this!
then hand over what you can afford, not what you can't and hope you get plenty back. what if they all spend all of it?

I'm really surprised that so many people say it's the chidl's money.

Not in my house and my dc wouldn't think for a minute that they'd keep the change. Thankfully they aren't sly or selfish and it wouldn't occur to them to underspend to keep the change, they realise i don't have money to waste and would only buy what they needed on the trip

On School trips my DDs have always known the money is theirs to spend once given and to weigh up whether that museum pen (that will probably quite quickly end up under the bed) is really worth £4.50 or would they rather save it to spend in proper shops with more choice and value for their money.

I would ask if there was any change, and let the child keep it, that’s what we usually do anyway.

Child here too. Spending money for school trips has always come from us, we dint expect them to fund themselves. If there's any change then they fritter it away over the next few days.

then hand over what you can afford, not what you can't and hope you get plenty back. what if they all spend all of it?

Then what's done is done and you have to cope with that then. I always give a bit extra just incase. After all, giving 6 would be a bit of a weird amount.

I would have said parent, but I see the point in letting the child keep it and I like the reasoning.

Sometimes if my son offers the change back to me I tell him he can keep it for being honest that there was change iyswim

When I give my children spending money for a school trip I give to them. I'm quite capable of giving them £4 or £6.50. If I've only got a tenner and want change I tell them at the outset. Unless you make it clear at the start it's pretty mean to take to back from them, just because they have been honest with you.

Sometimes I give my kids money to eg go to a café with friends. Sometimes I say "I think you'll spend about £4 but here is £7 just in case, but bring me the change".

Neither of these scenarios cause any problems. Just be clear when you hand over the money.

I learned a great tip from Mumsnet years ago which was to keep a stash of pound coins and fifty pence pieces. This was in the days when you had to pay primary schools in cash but as they became teenagers it's become more useful again.

Child, for all the reasons everyone else has said. If you can't afford to give your child £10, or even if you simply don't want them to spend that much, then you should either say so and explain you want change or give them less!

If this was my child then I would never see the money again because 3 of her friends wouldn't have had "anything at all mum" so she would have given them all some cash... even although all her friends parents have way more money that we do and all of they kids would actually have had money but did just doesn't get that🤦‍♀️

Parent. As others have said, it was given for the trip and anything not spent on the trip should be returned.

If your child had spent £10 on treasures tat then they would have what they bought to the value of £10 and you would have no change.
They decided to not spend all of it and that is their choice.

And there were many times when I couldnt afford the spending money for a trip, but I didnt want them to go without so I scrimped and went without myself. Schools always say an amount to take, and I would never want them to have less than their friends, I was the kid looking round the gift shop on a trip knowing I couldnt buy anything and I never wanted them to feel the way I did. But if they didnt spend it all then I would need it back.

My dd always gives me any change, and I usually tell her it's hers to keep because she spent it sensibly.

When I was skid I was given £1 a day for lunch (babkwhen 89p would getbyou a school dinner) and my mum would always ask how much my lunch was and take back what was left.