To be gobsmacked at his pocketmoney??

[VirtualPA]

My little brother (big age gap) is 16.

DH and I went to visit the family this weekend and it came up in conversation that he gets £50 a month pocket money. Half in a DD and half in cash.

I asked what he does for his money and apparently he washes the car every now and then.

I mean..... WOW! Thats a lot of money.

My DD will have to do set chores each day (such as loading the dishwasher) for her pocket money.

Or am I being unreasonable and this is the going rate now.

I use to get £2.50 from my dad per week, so when we went to my dads every other week we had £5 in our piggy banks!

Our kids will have to do chores to earn themselves money.

Riven how much is that about £90?

That made me laugh Pagwatch!!

My Ds is only 13 and is touting for jobs (although we keep telling him that he is too young)
I'm really split over this because I don't get many weekends off with my work especially in the summer months so when I am off we (DH and myself) like to go away to nice hotels or go camping with both DSs. If and when DS gets a Saturday job we won't be able to do this.

Oh well that's the way the cookie crumbles I guess!

It never occured to me when I give DS his money that I should include toiletries (He gets Ted Baker shower gel and is now using Dolce and Gabbana aftershave even though he hasn't got so much as a hair poking out of his chin atm!!)
Now I remember why my mum kept telling me teenagers where expensive but there again I only used Anne French cleanser

The £60 gets saved up mainly. She has paid for school trips out of it. Just made her a hair appointment for the leavers do £35, tickets £33 which she will pay for. I'm still buying the dress but said don't look at anything over £100. After this little do I am closing my purse, she has to find a job.

I got my age in pennies per week until I went to secondary school. I remember saving to £9.90 and begging my dad for another 10p so I'd have a whole ten pounds - he refused! It really makes me laugh now - I can see why he refused, and it did make me appreciate it all the more the following week. (I wonder what I spent the £10 on?!)

All money given to me by relatives for birthdays/Christmases (usually £10/£15) had to go straight into a savings account, minus about £10 which I was allowed to spend. It usually went on books.

When I went to secondary school I got 50p per week in Year 7, £1 per week in Year 8, £1.50 per week in Year 9, £2 per week in Year 10, £2.50 per week in Year 11. I was at boarding school and had literally nothing to buy for myself - toiletries and books went on the school bill and my mum bought clothes for me. (Which, in turn, meant I had no choice about clothes and was the kid who was dressed in BHS throughout school. Torture at the time - now I laugh at myself for caring so much!)

When I went into sixthform I suddenly got £40 per month and I have to say that it probably wasn't great for me. I still had nothing to buy for myself but I spent it all with no problems, mostly on icecreams/cheap nail varnish and magazines. I'm now one of those people who would spend their entire salary even if it miraculously doubled overnight - because I was so obsessed with saving when I was little? Because of the jump in sixthform? No idea, but I am resolutely rubbish with money, and have been since I was about 16.

There have been loads of shocking things in this thread, but the most shocking of all is that 16 year olds have waxings.

Somewhere in the middle I think Riven.

It was hidden in a list of things but it leapt out at me rather.

Well I didn't read the waxing post but I have paid for leg waxes for my 15 yr old, she paid when she was working. Why is that so shocking?

Ds (14) gets 20 euros per month and has to make sure the loos have loo roll in at all times!

I buy all his clothes (he doesn't care where they come from), but if he wants a PS3 game, he foregoes his pocket money to fund that from Amazon (live abroad, so cheaper off Amazon), or will have stuff off the Playstaion network, or an iTunes voucher.

School bus is paid for my dh's employer, and he takes packed lunch as I am too mean to pay school meal prices at his school which can be upwards of 6 euros per day.

I dint think £50 is excessive, ds1 is 4 years old and gets £2.50 a week (50p a day) and he can have a sweet or save up for a magazine, etc... he also gets the same from his grandparents, and currently he is saving his allowance, for a iron man 2 wrist thingamabob.

We follow 'the formula' with our primary school children - 10p per year so DS3 (age 11) gets £1.10.
Older children (maybe once they get to about 13) get more once they get to the stage of going to the cinema etc with friends rather than family so that they then learn to budget and realise that if they go to see a film this week, they won't be able to go skating next week as well.
DS2 (15) gets £5/week which covers social life, some clothes and whatever he needs to save up for.
DS1 (17) gets £10 but this covers quite a bit of food and travel, social life and saving for big events (he's getting into festivals now).

GarmerFlies What else have you found shocking? I haven't seen anything that I have been taken back by, it's just a thread about how people manage in their circumstances.

I have found it interesting how people come to money agreements with their children and of course what is right for one family isn't necessary right for another

I apologise for not having read the whole of this thread but whilst £50 or £80 per month may seem a lot if it is just for extras such as going out, games, and extra clothes it is not that much if, as with my 2 DSs,they have to buy lunch 5 days a week, pay for their phones, all stationery and books, presents, fares and all the extras as well.

DS1 18 hs learning difficulties & learning to handle his own money is very important to foster a sense of independence. He probably does more jobs around the home than DS2, ie the grass every week, hoovering once a week, walking the dog 3 or 4 times a week but that is because he has less ability to earn outside the home than DS2 who pays for his social life and gaming habits by babysitting and tennis coaching.

Both of them are careful with their money and know they have to save up for things whereas some of their friends who get farsmaller allowances get handed £20 notes by their parents so often that the monthly total must far higher than I give.

My DCs have always had £1 a month for each year of their age.

So my 11 year old gets £11 a month now.

DS is 14 and is away weekly boarding so he gets £10 a week because he has to buy all his tuck / stationery / drinks at the social on Friday night. He also now buys things in Poundland at the weekend and supplements that money buy selling stuff on for a fiver each . I don't tend to have to buy much for else for him during the month (clothes etc or magazines or toiletries etc) because he is away.

DD1 is now 16 and she gets £25 a month, plus her BlackBerry contract. She also has various babysitting jobs. She buys all her own jewellery and clothes. I do buy her toiletries but she also pays for days or nights out with mates. Unless I am feeling generous and she gets a tenner.

On paper this sounds a lot of cash but we live in an affluent town and the DCs do go to private schools so are surrounded by children with private helicopters and Ferraris.

They really understand the value of what they get and also that it is all we can afford.

All things are relative I suppose.

What a lovely, sensible and non-shouty thread this is (anyone who read my previous thread - when I was practically accused of child exploitation will know why I say this )

My DD's (both aged 14) receive £25 per month pocket money, plus another £60 extra for household chores (all worked out with prior agreement)

Glad to see that we are not the only parents who encourage their children to earn extra money doing chores/jobs.

Betty - do they do any jobs round the house they don't get paid for?

I've three teenage sons all at school - 16,15 and 14. I want them to live in the real world where, when you leave home, nothing is handed to you on a plate and to realise that you can achieve your dreams through hard work and effort.
Recently I was aware that everything went one way - theirs! So instead of dishing out cash whenever they asked - they had to earn it. From that I realised how cushioned they had been - they didn't know how to wash dishes properly, wipe down worktops hygienically or that potatoes didn't get boiled whole!
They are given £18 a week - £13 for lunches and £5 for spending. I pay if they go anywhere different - ie cinema and I pay for all sport activities, £10 mobile top up monthly, clothes, deodorants ( v. exp).
Overall I think the important thing is that they are contributing to household chores - not only does it help me but learning life skills too. Now I've three sons who amongst other things are able to clean the kitchen, make a great cheese sauce and peg out washing!!

What's wrong with a 16 year old having waxes? I know children as young as 9 having it done (although they are very hairy)

applauds Betty
children treat their parents as skivvies all the time, so its only right that we prepare them for this as young as possible.
[mine were up the chimney at 5]