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Original poster

Pocket money for 12 year old

139 replies

Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:15

How much pocket money do you give your children?
My son has £10 a week, was just wondering whether this is too much/too little.
Obviously everything is more expensive these days but it with the COL things are really tight here too.
I pay for his contract sim every month. Dinner & snack money for school. Any clothes/shoes he needs etc
He does reluctantly do some chores but annoyingly wastes majority of his money on drinks and sweets even tho I’ve encouraged him to take drinks out with him to save spending out on more.

OP posts:
Hedonism · 22/06/2023 23:18

My 11yo has £4 per week, he also spends most of it on cheap and disgusting drinks and snacks from the local shop.

Sarahtm35 · 22/06/2023 23:19

£0 if they want money they have to earn it.

Passwordsarestressful · 22/06/2023 23:19

That is double what we give ours, but we do also pay for phones, clothes etc. Dd13 has to do all the recycling and.empty the dishwasher, ds11 has to.put chairs up on table for robovac to go round daily. They both wash up/dry whatever can't go in dishwasher after dinner, make their own pack lunches and dust, vacuum their bedrooms.

But it is up to you.

gonnaketchamall · 22/06/2023 23:26

13 yo gets £25/month. We pay phone, lunches, bus pass and basic clothes.
Not linked to chores. She is expected to help out around the house as needed like the rest of us - that's life.

RedSoloCup · 22/06/2023 23:26

£20 a month but so also pay phone and give extra for food etc when going out with friends

Original poster
Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:27

Hedonism · 22/06/2023 23:18

My 11yo has £4 per week, he also spends most of it on cheap and disgusting drinks and snacks from the local shop.

It’s so frustrating isn’t it. Yet he will say can you buy me these £120 Nike trainers for school because I’m the odd one out with the trainers I wear?! I’m like erm nope…. Whilst I do understand the pressures of trying to fit in I don’t have the money to be buying £120 shoes each time he goes up a shoe size which is often! He’s in a adult size 9 currently

OP posts:
Original poster
Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:29

gonnaketchamall · 22/06/2023 23:26

13 yo gets £25/month. We pay phone, lunches, bus pass and basic clothes.
Not linked to chores. She is expected to help out around the house as needed like the rest of us - that's life.

My kids pocket money is linked to chores but I’m thinking I’ve made a mistake with that one! At the end of the day us adults don’t get paid for doing the chores 🫣

OP posts:
Ahsoka2001 · 22/06/2023 23:29

Sarahtm35 · 22/06/2023 23:19

£0 if they want money they have to earn it.

Ermm from what...? Children can't really work unless it's a paper round or special jobs like acting/modelling etc

Original poster
Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:32

Ahsoka2001 · 22/06/2023 23:29

Ermm from what...? Children can't really work unless it's a paper round or special jobs like acting/modelling etc

Show quote history

I was wondering the same. Where I live you generally can’t work until your 16 unless it’s a paper round and not many people even have them delivered anymore. I can’t remember the last time I seen someone delivering a newspaper!

OP posts:
CoffeeCakeAndALattePlease · 22/06/2023 23:33

DD8 gets £5 but has the opportunity to double it if she has an amazing week.
DH is fully in charge of her pocket money…. I think it’s too much but he feels it appropriate.

Ahsoka2001 · 22/06/2023 23:34

Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:32

I was wondering the same. Where I live you generally can’t work until your 16 unless it’s a paper round and not many people even have them delivered anymore. I can’t remember the last time I seen someone delivering a newspaper!

Show quote history

Exactly, so how else is a child meant to "earn the money"? I just did some research on the average child wage for a paper round, btw, and it's much lower than what many parents give as pocket money. Great for exercise and a strong work ethic though!

Redbushteaforme · 22/06/2023 23:36

£12.50 a month for our 12 year old, but we pay direct for all his clothes, activities etc. His pocket money is for things he wants to buy himself - eg Lego and extra sweets etc - and I encourage him to save up for larger items he wants. We use the Nimbl app which has worked quite well in making him plan what he spends/saves each month.

CloudPop · 22/06/2023 23:37

He's 12. If he's wasting the money, stop it altogether. Tell him he gets it back when he is a bit more mature.

Original poster
Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:37

Ahsoka2001 · 22/06/2023 23:34

Exactly, so how else is a child meant to "earn the money"? I just did some research on the average child wage for a paper round, btw, and it's much lower than what many parents give as pocket money. Great for exercise and a strong work ethic though!

Show quote history

I have no idea 😂

IMO, if a child can get a paper round to earn some extra cash then great but the main priority should be on the education that will hopefully contribute to them getting a good job in the future

OP posts:
allthecats1982 · 22/06/2023 23:38

8yr old gets £5 a week but only if he completes his chores chart, reading chart and gets 10/10 on spellings. If he doesn't get all these on a Friday he has Saturday to help with housework and can earn some of it that way. Age appropriate chores obviously. He pairs socks, puts his laundry away. Dusts the stairs, feeds the kittens, tidies the car (mainly of his snack wrappers from karate), cleans the school shoes.

We used ti get 10p per year of our age a week 🤣 great when you're 5 and 50p goes a long way in the 80's... less so when you're 12 and at secondary getting £1.20 and it gets very little in Tammy 🤣

Original poster
Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:40

Redbushteaforme · 22/06/2023 23:36

£12.50 a month for our 12 year old, but we pay direct for all his clothes, activities etc. His pocket money is for things he wants to buy himself - eg Lego and extra sweets etc - and I encourage him to save up for larger items he wants. We use the Nimbl app which has worked quite well in making him plan what he spends/saves each month.

Oh what’s the nimbl app about? Not heard of that one.
Twice I’ve got him a debit card but he’s ended up losing it so it’s been cash ever since. I just hate the idea of £10 a week being wasted and nothing to show for it really. I hope he becomes a bit more sensible with his money as he gets older. My younger son is the complete opposite he likes to save pocket/birthday/Christmas money

OP posts:
CoffeeCakeAndALattePlease · 22/06/2023 23:40

I started getting pocket money at 5…. 25p lol. Stopped when I was 15 and got my weekend job and it had gradually risen to £3.50 by then.

everything seems so expensive now, pocket money doesn’t go far.

Ahsoka2001 · 22/06/2023 23:40

@Sarahtm35 How are you expecting children below working age to earn money if they want more than the £0 you give?

Original poster
Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:41

CloudPop · 22/06/2023 23:37

He's 12. If he's wasting the money, stop it altogether. Tell him he gets it back when he is a bit more mature.

Honestly he’s a nightmare for wasting it on junk so I’ve recently said to him I’m gonna keep back £5 a week for now and put it into a savings tin on his behalf so he can start learning to budget his money a bit better for things he actually wants

OP posts:
allthecats1982 · 22/06/2023 23:42

@Ilovepugs2017 my son is the same. He likes to squirrel money away and then when we go somewhere he "forgets" his money and looks lovingly at a grandparent or auntie/ I've warned people about making eye contact with him near toy shops!

StarchySturgess1 · 22/06/2023 23:43

Sarahtm35 · 22/06/2023 23:19

£0 if they want money they have to earn it.

This won't end well.

allthecats1982 · 22/06/2023 23:44

@StarchySturgess1 I think she means maybe by doing jobs around the house.

Original poster
Ilovepugs2017 · 22/06/2023 23:44

allthecats1982 · 22/06/2023 23:38

8yr old gets £5 a week but only if he completes his chores chart, reading chart and gets 10/10 on spellings. If he doesn't get all these on a Friday he has Saturday to help with housework and can earn some of it that way. Age appropriate chores obviously. He pairs socks, puts his laundry away. Dusts the stairs, feeds the kittens, tidies the car (mainly of his snack wrappers from karate), cleans the school shoes.

We used ti get 10p per year of our age a week 🤣 great when you're 5 and 50p goes a long way in the 80's... less so when you're 12 and at secondary getting £1.20 and it gets very little in Tammy 🤣

Haha I was a 90’s child but yes things were soooo much cheaper then. I remember when Freddo caramels were 10p or something 😂

OP posts:
Sugarfree23 · 22/06/2023 23:45

Who the heck gets papers delivered in the days of Internet and mobile phones?

My 12 yo gets £25 a month, paid onto a card. Mainly used for sweets and occasionally going out with pals.

We haven't linked it to house chores. We tried in the past and failed but I was getting to the stage that he needed to learn to handle his own money and budgeting.

StarchySturgess1 · 22/06/2023 23:45

allthecats1982 · 22/06/2023 23:44

@StarchySturgess1 I think she means maybe by doing jobs around the house.

Yes I know, I don't think the "they get nothing unless they earn it" approach is positive or helpful.