Should 16 year olds get pocket money or get a job?

[Dramatic]

My DD is 16, about to start a full time a level course at college (6th form) me and DH are having a slight disagreement on what money we should give her.

He's saying we should give her money for transport and food at college but nothing else and that if she wants any extras she should get a part time/Saturday job. I think we should still be giving her a bit of pocket money, say around £10-20 per week so she can go out with her friends, buy herself some little treats or whatever.

We still buy all her clothes/toiletries and essentials.

Who is BU?

My parents gave me a bus pass and £10 a week. I then supplemented that with a part time job. I paid for my own phone, make up etc, mum would buy essential toiletries, sanitary wear and basic clothes (BHS and C&A if I wanted Miss Selfridge and Top Shop I would gave to pay for it!)

It’s not always easy for 16 yo to get a job . Some places can be quite funny as still fall under child labour laws, also depends how much competition there is for jobs. So if she doesn’t get a job easily then yes it’s reasonable to give pocket money for little bits.

My DD has just passed her driving test and that has focused her mind on the importance of getting a part time job! It’s fine to give her some pocket money, but it is good for her CV/uni applications if she has some real world experience and if she goes to uni it will put her in a better position to get a part time job as she’ll have some useful skills and training. So it’s not just about the money, it’s about the longer term and wider benefits.

I think a Saturday job is fine but more than that is a bad idea.

I worked a lot during a levels owing complete poverty and I just wasn’t focused and didn’t do very well. I could’ve done much better with less worries about money.

I think you can both be right here.

£20 a week will cover very little. Is she washing her own clothes and bedding and cooking a family meal weekly too?

A job would allow her to afford going out and savings for larger items.

All adult skill sets.

For me, I’d prefer my 16-18 year old to be focussed on their studies, as well as having a little bit of a social life, during term time.

I do think it’s good to have exposure to working life but, ideally, as a summer job.

I don’t think £10 p/w would go far these days.

I think at 16 parents pay for the essentials and then she needs to find a job. When I was young and you could do paper rounds babysitting etc from 13 our pocket money was stopped and we needed to get a job. Taught me about the value of money. Likewise when my daughter reached 16 she had to start looking for jobs luckily she was successful and got a part time job a few weeks after she was 16. However she does have friends that for one reason for another don't seem to be able to get a job but they are actively looking so I think it is ok to give them pocket money if they can prove they are actively looking for work

Depending on where you live it can be hard to get a job at 16 - my friend’s DD was looking recently and a lot of places wanted 18 as a minimum, the only thing she (eventually) found was a dodgy cash in hand job as a dishwasher at a cafe.

Where we are most places won't hire at 16. Unless unsocial stuff(my 16 y/o ds got a pot wash job at a pizza chain and was regularly not put until midnight/asked to come in when obviously sick (Covid and highly symptomatic/ill).

He was there 6 months and his coping abilities went through the floor, so I told him to stop and concentrate on his studies.

I could only afford to give home £20 a week and he knew that as soon as his A levels were done he had to find work.

If you can find a good employer it can work well- I worked part time from 15 and agree with the development of a good work ethic but there seem to be fewer good quality opportunities available these days.

The studies can be a little mixed, and this one is for GCSEs, but there’s at least some evidence that even a Saturday job can have a negative impact on grades - https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2015/mar/28/saturday-jobs-damage-exam-grades-teenagers

I think summer jobs provide the right balance.

She needs a part time job for fun money

While at college at 16 I had to work 9 hours every sat and 7 every sun. I hated it. Non of my friends worked.

Out of my 5 , all of them have done either a Saturday job , or worked for McDonald’s for either a few hours after college , or on a day at the weekend . We financed their phones , their travel costs and some lunch money , which suited them plenty . It also gave them a job to come back to in between uni terms , which they all worked enough hours that it meant they didn’t work in uni time.

We’ve just come to an agreement with the youngest , that I’ll be paying him to sort out the animals , instead of working midweek, which suits us both .

And of the 5 , 3 of them so far have degrees, 2 are doing their masters , and the 4th starts her paramedics course this year , so they’ve not done too shabbily either.

DS (19) has a holiday job when he’s home from uni. It’s at a place that is relevant to his studies which is good. He doesn’t work term time. He didn’t work during 6th form because of covid and everything still getting back to normal from that!!

DD (17) has a Saturday job with the occasional extra shift on bank holidays and busy periods.

Both of them got pocket money (they did jobs for me to earn it).

In the long run having experience working is more helpful than having money given to her.

Both if you can afford it.
It’s good for her to have a part time job.
But if you can afford it then I would be giving her an allowance. She’s still in full time education. You’ll still be getting child benefit for her.
At 16 I’d still expect parents to be paying for most of a child’s essential needs.

16 is too young nowadays to be working, surely they should be concentrating on their studies and enjoy the last couple of years being a kid , ok young adult. Unless it's a necessity, I don't think it's fair to pressurise them to get a pt job.

With ours, we carried on with pocket money until the end of August after they turned 18 / finished school.
We had never given them vast amounts of pocket money - they were motivated to go out and find work but I felt taking away pocket money if they get a job doesn't really motivate them.
Work experience is invaluable, but they should feel able to turn down extra shifts, or stop if they need to put more into their academic studies / revision at some point and not end up without any money.

My parents went for both. Whilst I was working a part time job they gave me extra money. They didn't like how low paid it was due to the minimum wage laws and knew I was working hard. If I had left my job they'd have stopped what they gave me. I will more than likely do the same

Depends how many A levels she is doing. 4 A levels is tough. Pay her for chores around the house. If she wants to get a job I would be okay with that too but keep an eye on A level progress.

If you can't afford it, you can't afford it.

If you can, why wouldn't you pay her some pocket money?

This is my view too. I pay 17 year old £15 PW. He is expected to study hard and help around the house which he does. Plenty of time for working later for him. I do realise lots of kids learn lots of skills by working but DS plays sport to a county standard and along with training that takes up a lot of his time.

Very much mixed responses then 🙈 we live in the NE so a little less expensive than other parts of the country, for example a cinema ticket only costs a fiver so she wouldn't necessarily need a huge amount of pocket money to spend time with her friends. As I said we still buy all her clothes and essentials.

I do think giving her nothing while she's in full time education is unfair though.

I’m baffled by the handwringing about teenagers working - when I was a teenager in the late 80s, all my friends had p/t jobs. Didn’t affect our exam grades and meant we all had more spare cash for having fun. What has changed? 🤷‍♀️