To ask what's a reasonable expectation of a teenager?

[Sofiegiraffe]

Two parts to my question really.

1. How much monthly allowance do you think is reasonable for an almost 16 year old? (I appreciate this figure is budget dependent in each family, so just a rough idea would be good, or even a range...)

2. What household chores / task would you expect of them to "earn" that amount? (If any).

Thank you!

re monthly allowance. What do you expect them to pay for out of it?

• just socialising?
• phone?
• casual clothes?
• essentials such as underwear?

re chores.
is your almost 16yo doing GCSEs? That would be my priority, but from then it depends how your household runs, who has spare time etc

@TeenPlusCat

Thanks for your reply.

No I pay for her phone every month and if she needs clothes I buy them as and when needed. So it's just social, leisure and stuff she doesn't need as such, but just wants.

She's heading into Year 11 this September so GCSEs have started in terms of study and the odd exam here and there, I imagine things will really pick up for her from September though.

Mine doesn’t get an allowance he has a job. We pay for phone, gym, clothing

He’s expected to clean his room and one bathroom and do his own ironing. Sometimes I’ll get him to clean my car or walk the dog, run to the shops etc.

I do still bung him some extra money here and there but we have never done regular pocket money

£10-£50 per month.

@WhatTheWhoTheWhatThe

Thanks. She desperately wants a weekend job but she struggles a bit with social anxiety so she's shying away from it at the moment. I'm trying to support her with this and help her approach places etc, but no luck so far. She also stays with her Dad EOW who lives 2.5 hours away, so she would only be available alternate weekends and she thinks this will put employers off. I've encouraged her to ask anyway, but she's not up for it at the moment. I'm resisting the temptation to do it for her as she'll learn nothing if I do, and she needs to overcome this anxiety somehow.

Mind is 14 so a bit younger. I don't give a regular allowance but make sure she has enough to buy what she needs and a bit for random sweets, stationary ect. Money isn't tied specifically to chores, she has no set ones but I expect her to be a functioning member of the household, so keep her room tidy(ish), bring pots to the kitchen, put her washing away, put the odd wash load on, take out recycling if asked. Just be a considerate person and not leave a trail of shite behind her.

My 16yr old gets her phone, bus pass, clothes and a tenner a week.

In return she does the kitchen and dishwasher every other day. Washes her own clothes and keeps her room clean. If I ask her to do ad hoc jobs like vacuum she will without complaint. She's looking for a PT job atm and has applied for a few.

She has access to my Netflix, Spotify, Disney plus and prime accounts. I think she gets a lot tbh, much more than when I was 16.

My DD is 15 (year 11) she has to empty the dishwasher most days and put recycling out. I sometimes (less than once a week) ask her to do some chores eg vacuum her room or hang the laundry out. She flatly refuses to do any errands like go to the shops to buy milk/bread etc (even if its something she's specifically asked for)
I pay for her phone, travel if she's going on the train and for presents for friends birthdays. She gets around £30/month.

As an aside if OPS child is in year 10 their 16th birthday must be more than 6 months away?

I give my 17yr old £25 a month on pay day, but his dad also gives him money regularly and gives him the money he needs for his 5 a side football or to top up his oyster to go to Arsenal. So he doesn’t have a lot to spend on as he doesn’t go out much as he’s too busy studying for his A levels. My DD is 14 and I don’t give her regular money as yet as she likes takeaways so I spend around £25 on that. Though lately she’s started cooking more so I might start to give her £25 too. They know that if they need any money for anything either their dad or I will give it to them. My son will hopefully get a job in the summer before Uni.

Oh and no chores. Their job is to keep up with their studies. Both are really good kids, so happy for them to just do school for now

My son is Year 10. He gets £5 a week and pays for his own phone (£7 a month from that). We buy clothes he may top up what we pay if he wants something particularly expensive. For this he puts out the bins weekly and empties them twice weekly, will nip to the shop or do other things when asked.

DS1 is a nearly 15. We don’t give him any pocket money, because he works with a family member and is paid adult minimum wage. He definitely doesn’t need any extra from us! However we do pay his phone and give him £5 here and there as a treat.

We ask that he keeps his room clean & tidy and chips in with dishes/hoovering occasionally. Not much more tbh. He chooses to help out in other ways such a nipping to the shop, collecting younger siblings, walking the dog, but none of that is required.

DS2 does not have a job, he gets £5 a week pocket money to his bank and we also save £5 a week for him. He chose that split as he doesn’t have much he wants and would rather save as much as possible. We also pay for his phone. He does similar chores to DS1, but we definitely ask him to do the odd bit here and there more than we ask his brother.

We operate the MN (well I think I saw it here) double their age, so DS1 is 16 this weekend and will get £32. We do pay for phone and clothes.

Chores are adhoc. I am usually out with his brother’s at football on a Saturday morning and he will load the washing machine, move to tumble. Like others I just expect them to pull their weight. If I ask him to pick his younger brother up or look after him for any long length of time I do pay him as I see that as our responsibility. Usually £2.50 for pick (DS14 is revolting and asking £5).

£100 a month, to pay for travel to college (a specialist 14-16 programme), lunches, and leisure. I pay for mobile phone separately. Any desperate clothing needs, soaps, shampoos, etc I also pay for, but specialist stuff is dc's responsibility, in an effort to teach budgeting skills. Seems to be working OK so far.

Should have said DS2 nearly 14. They are y10 and y9 so vaguely similar.

Oh, and chores are not payed for. Dc do chores as part of living in the family home - it's just what you do, to make life comfortable for us all.

At that age I paid for my Dds phones - they had my old ones when I upgraded - bought their clothes when needed and gave them £10 a week. They did have part time jobs too. DD1 also split her time with her DF eow, but when she started work this changed and was much more ad hoc
They had to keep their rooms clean, make the odd meal, do some chores like dishwasher, vacuuming, walking the dog.

My 12 year old gets between £2 and £9 a week depending on the chores she has done. I buy everything she needs, and most things she wants, she buys things she wants.

The tasks list includes: walk the dog after school, keep her room clean (I always hear her hoovering the night before spending money is paid ) and make sure it is tidy before bed. Feed the pets after school. Read every day. Complete all homework on time. Make her own school packed lunch.

At 16 my parents gave me money when i needed it and I had a job.

£25pm for socialising, then £10pw for drinks etc at college. We pay for phone, gym, all clothes and trainers.
He works for his dad occasionally and in the holidays, been very difficult to try and did him a regular PT job that fits around college hours.
No regular chores but he’s expected to pitch in and help when asked to clean and tidy up.

Our 16 year old gets £20 a week and when it's gone it's gone. No extras, no advances!

He does sometimes get fined for swearing, being late for college etc though that's not happened for a while.

Phone is paid on top but as his dad works for a telecomms company its a very low cost.

We replace basic clothing but that often ends up being tacked on as extra Christmas and birthday gifts. If he wants anything else he buys it.

If he eats food outside home he pays. He doesn't usually have lunch at college (adhd meds so has big breakfast and then a late lunch after getting home). If he did I suppose we'd cover that.

He buys Christmas and birthday gifts for immediate family out of his allowance. Extended family gifts covered by us.

We pay for a monthly bus pass, mainly for college but uses it for social life too.

No real chores, just has to clear up after himself, tidy room once a week and bring down his laundry, empty his bin, put his own stuff in dishwasher. Also mind his younger sibling for 20 mins if I have to dash to shop.

If he wants any extra money he has to earn it with odd jobs. Babysitting, DIY, cleaning windows etc. He did a lot of this last year so he could afford to replace his laptop (we covered half as his Christmas gift.) Has applied for a few Saturday jobs but no luck yet.

He has got much better at budgeting. Has managed to save up enough for a short trip to Milan with his friends in a few months.

Mine doesn’t get regular pocket money. We pay for phone and and give money as and when needed. Sometimes he knows he has to wait if we’ve had some major expenses and he needs expensive items.
He gets money for birthdays and special occasions and uses that as he wishes.
Chores - he takes recycling out, keeps his room clean, deals with his own laundry, irons his own school uniform and helps as and when required. He doesn’t get money for this as it’s just a part of life.
He’s looking for a job but it’s hard to get one at the moment as most want quite a few hours and he can’t commit to that while education is his priority.

15 year old gets £6 per week, but we pay phone, clothes, lunches etc. Offered to increase it but he doesn’t really spend it anyway.

He has chores, but deliberately not linked to allowance because we didn’t want to foster the idea that he should have to be paid in order to be a functioning human being.

Could she get a voluntary job in a charity shop? Plenty people do that for their princess youth trust awards (or whatever it’s called!) so she may not be the only young person.

It would give her confidence and help her come out if her shell so she’d stand a better chance of getting and holding down a permanent job.

I know she won’t get paid but you can impress upon her the importance of voluntary work and how charity shops help people get things they need for affordable prices.

You could give her an allowance for the days she works as you are proud of her.

That way she gets a little bit of money, does her bit for charity for say three months on a Saturday, gets confidence, and a also reference from the shop hopefully for a permanent Saturday job in due course.