Kids and pocket money.

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How much pocket money do you give to your children weekly? I have DS's 7 and 10yr. And do you expect them to spend their saved pocket money when they want things? Eg stationery, Toys, books, footwear and clothing.

My dh and I have been talking about this for our ds who is 7. Dh is thinking £10
a week which seems quite a lot to me.

I wouldn't expect them to use pocket money on clothes and shoes (unless they didn't need them, but happened to see something they really wanted). I wouldn't expect them to buy their own essential stuff.
Stationary again I'd probably buy the essentials for school but if for example I bought a pencil case they wanted, they then wanted a different one, they can buy that themselves.
Toys and books yes I would say that's exactly what pocket money is for.
Amount is difficult because it depends a large amount on your family's financial situation. I don't think a 7 year old needs that much money though.

Ds is 14 and gets between £5-8 (depending on behaviour and jobs done)

Dd has just turned 17 and used to get £10 but she's now living away at college so it is incorporated in to her allowance.I allow £10 pocket money and £25 clothing/toiletries allowance

For a 7 year old approx £1.50-£2.00 per week which I would expect to be spent on sweets/comics plus saving up for non Chyristmas and birthday toys and for a 10 year old £3-4 (preparation for secondary school where they may want to go into town with friends and buy novelty stationary/Macdonalds etc) ON starting secondary school I'd increase it to around £3.50-£5

I wouldn't expect them to buy clothes, toiletries or essential school equipment at this age. Depending on the child that would be from around the age of 12 onwards)

At that age pocket money was small and for discretionary spend only, e.g. pocket money toys, a few sweets. £2 per week.

When started secondary we upped to £15 / month. Token presents for immediate family Bday & Christmas, cost of PAYG for phone.

At some point we upped to £25 / month to include wider socialising etc without us being present.

Wouldn't include standard clothes until post GCSEs earliest.

My ethos is that I don't think it is good for teens to get used to a higher level of discretionary spend than they will have when a student or working.

Mine are 5 and 7. They each get £100 a month put into their bank accounts and £100 into their piggy banks. When we go out, I pay entry into everything but if they want to buy any toys or stationary or anything from gift shops or arcades etc then they use their own money. They usually buy themselves a book each week as well. Then I get the rest of their tbings. At the end of the year, the piggy banks are emptied into their bank accounts.

Depends what they need it for. If just for sweets, little treats etc then a couple of quid. If they are expected to then buy their own clothes, toys plus save some then obviously more.

Chrisjen Wow, that is a massive amount! I hope they turn into high earners able to spend at the level they are getting used to!

Even if they don't have access to their bank accounts now, that is a massive amount to suddenly get access to at 18 when hormones can make teens not the most sensible people on the planet.

Teen, the point is they learn to save. They have access to plenty of money and could go and spend their hearts out on Lego, but they don't. Because I'm bringing them up to understand that money has value and savings don't magically appear. They choose small toys, or they say "I'm using this £20 and £20 from next time to buy this set". Because we talk about saving up.

I was given access to a large amount at 18, and I started a business with it. I also travelled. They can do the same if they want, but at that point they will be adults and if I parent them the way my own parents raised me, them they will hopefully be sensible.

I can't afford to give mine pocket money. Both my 11 and 13 year old are delivering a local magazine to earn some pennies. My 16 and 18 year old both have part time jobs.

Dd 15 gets £20a month.I buy essentials Coats,shoes,uniform ,basic wardrobe,basic toiletries and she gets anything else from her own money.
I am trying to work out what to give her next year as she goes to 6 form college to give her more responsibility and a feel for affordability on a bigger scale than she has at present.

I was fully in charge of my own finances from 13 onwards. I was given enough to pay for clothing, hygiene, phone, entertainment and activities, all of it. If I screwed up and couldn't afford my school uniform, then I needed to pay my parents back. I can't imagine being 15/16 and my mum still buying my clothes. It's served me well in my adulthood.

Trainee Why not try to work out how much you spend at the moment on clothes and travel and add it on to her allowance?

DD1 didn't want me to include clothes, so we ended up doing £25 'pocket money' plus £50 'college' (lunches and incidentals) per month, with me paying for the bus/train passes. Would have been higher pocket money but she didn't really socialise.

My 5 and 7 yos get £1 a week if they do their jobs around the house (tidy their toys, feed their pets, lay table and help to clear it). We actually pay for everything for them, the pocket money is just a little incentive. They spend it on sweets, sometimes a magazine.

I used to get a few pounds which I'd use for comics and sweets but now magazines comics are so expensive you'd probably need £5 a week at least.

DS is 7 and we haven't started yet but thinking about it now.

You may find this interesting. Its reccomended pocket money amounts for children in care

Age Weekly Minimum Reward Amount Sub total

Under 5 years Occasional Treats

5 years £0.75 £0.25 £1.00
6 years £1.00. £0.50 £1.50
7 years £1.45 £0.55 £2.00
8 years £1.90 £0.60 £2.50
9 years £2.25 £0.75 £3.00
10 years £2.80 £1. 20 £4.00
11 years £3.50 £1.50 £5.00
12 years £4.00 £2.00 £6.00
13 years £4.60 £2.40 £7.00
14 years £5.50 £2.50 £8.00
15 years £6.70 £2.30 £9.00
16 years £8.00 £2.00 £10.00
17 years £9.00 £1.50 £10.50

I'm thinking of starting pocket money soon, just don't know how much! I have two DS's aged 10 and 15.

The 10 year old will just blow it on sweets/toys. The 15 year old likes going out with friends so would spend it on bus/train fare, food and cinema /bowling etc

Thanks for the replies, my 7 year old currently gets £2 a week and the other one has only just turned 10 and gets £3. 10yr old asked for an increase this morning so wasn't sure if I was paying him less, but from the replies I feel it's enough.

I think it depends on your child. We give a pound per month per age from the age of ten. They spend it on going out with friends in town, presents for friends and family. I have offered to move to a budget for my yr9 to include clothes, hygiene etc. She isn't too bothered about clothes- more into activities and school work so happy for me to pick up stuff I know she will like if I see a bargain. She will come clothes shopping too but it isn't a big thing for her and mainly just for essential wardrobe. It could be different if she was into designer clothes/ shoes then I probably would say 'here is your budget, spend it / save it but don't pester me for extra clothes in between.

My 6 year old gets money from time to time. I often don't have change and he gets nothing, sometimes I give him money for his money box and he usually forgets about it so it adds up a bit.

When he's older I'll probably get him a pocket money card and debit it, right now I'll give him £5 every week or two in the school holidays and one or two pound if I have it on me and I think of it. He never asks for anything and is able to take no for an answer very easily.

My dd is 9 and ds is 7. They get £2 per week which they can spend on whatever they want within reason. My daughters preferences is Claire's accessories or small Lego sets my son is currently saving for a new skylanders for the PS4.

I was a bit at how much that was @ChrisjenAvasarala but this Teen, the point is they learn to save. They have access to plenty of money and could go and spend their hearts out on Lego, but they don't. Because I'm bringing them up to understand that money has value and savings don't magically appear. They choose small toys, or they say "I'm using this £20 and £20 from next time to buy this set". Because we talk about saving up. has made me think.
We were never given access to money even though we had a comfortable upbringing and my sister and I are terrible with money. She spends loads as it comes and I am always feeling too guilty to spend any

DD10 gets £5 a week except once a month when she pays for a penguin adoption so gets £2. We are going to start asking her to earn her money as she currently does nothing round the house.

@planespotting I have these on the fridge, so when they get their pocket money we'll sit down and say "gran's birthday is this month so you'll need £20 for her present." Then show them the 1/5th fraction next to the 'whole'. Then "and you've got your school trip, so you'll need £5 spending for that". Add that fraction to the one we already have etc. So they can see it adding up. Then I remind them they need to keep some for the bank, and then they can see that even though they have £100 in their hand, they don't actually have that amount to spend on what they want.

The 7 year old is really good with his fractions now, and understanding that if he wants the Lego joker manor then he will need so save £50 a month for 5 months so he knows he can't really get anything else for that whole time. The 5 year old is still learning but will get There!

www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-Resources-Magnetic-Rainbow-Fraction-x/dp/B000URMV7I/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?psc=1&keywords=magnetic+fractions&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&tag=mumsnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1546953979&sr=8-1-spons

No cash for my 12 year old DS apart from the odd £1 here and there for a drink at the shop.
I do pay for his mobile phone plus insurance £35/month and Spotify £9.99/month so I think that's fair enough!

The money Chrisjen gives her children sounds excessive but it seems that she/he expects her children to use it for things that others would not such as family birthday presents and school trips.