pocket money advice please

[poppiesinaline]

DS (9 yrs) has started to ask for pocket money and DD (6 yrs) has now joined in with the plea.

DH thinks they should 'earn' their money. Which I think is a good idea. Does anyone else do this?

How much do kids this age get a week? I feel I am floundering a little. Money is quite tight here so dont want to give them loads cos we havent got it!!

I'm v lucky as Granny pays the pocket money. The standard set by DD's cousins has been nothing until age 5 when she got £5 per month, rising by £1 per year of age until age 10/£10 then it stays at £10 per month. It's to buy "extras" or to save. At 13 the eldest dd saves hers up for 3 months to buy games for her PS2.

I still can't decide on the going rate for "earning" money - half of me thinks it's a good idea that money doesn't grow on trees, but I also want her to realise that she should be contributing to the household anyway - I don't want her to think that she ought to earn money just for tidying up. The only time we have paid has been for things like car washing as that shouldn't be her job anyway, but a bit of washing up or hoovering is just something that she should be capable of.

mmmm I am in two minds - I agree that they should do stuff around the house without getting paid for it but I also think they need to realise that money doesnt grow on trees and I feel earning it helps them appreciate the sense of money. Heeeelllp.. Dont know what to do!!

anyone????

How about a duel system

A list of jobs which if they aren't done = no pocket money

A list of jobs for which money can be earnt

ie some are expected and some are "extra"

oooo I feel a chart coming on. I LOVE charts

My 8 and 6 year olds have been having pocket money for the past 9 months. They get 1 euro and 50 cents respectively. We don't make them earn it, because we think they should help around the house a bit anyway, but it can be withheld/reduced for particularly horrid behaviour or increased in a moment of rash generosity

It's a good thing, especially to get them to keep to rules that children often see as 'pointless'
i.e putting their dirty clothes in linen basket, not leaving wet towels on the floor,

A 'points' sytem works well, my sister has jars of marbles worth 10p each in the kitchen, with each childs name on it, and they get a 'base' every monday morning and then their marbles are added to or detracted from depending on good/bad behaviour and how much they do to help around the house.

My 5yo DS has started getting £1/week. He gets it on a Saturday morning once his bedroom is tidy. At his age this is the only stipulation. Although I do expect other things of him during the week such as clothes in basket, bed "made" etc.

my ds12 gets £5 every saturday as does my dd5,

You really give a 5yo £5 a week?

I go along with housemum that saving towards a particular goal is good message to send.

I think an "earning" system is good if you're organised enough to keep it going for long enough that they understand it.
My fear is that the complexity can get out of hand. There's just so many distinct behaviours we want, like homework, being polite, sharing with brother, saying sorry when bad, eating, getting ready for school at a reasonable speed etc, etc.

To me the amount is driven largely by what they do with it. Currently if given 5 quid cash, 5yo DS1 would just buy a lot of sweets.
I guess we'll lurch towards a level where they can buy a packet of sweets and a comic. Currently we never buy sweets, and I have right of veto over comics. Sadly DS1's choice is typically driven by the toy on the front, not the content. But in general I approve of comics, a lot.

Of course, they may develop an interest in something I approve of, like wanting to read all the books by some author (even Rowling), or some hobby.
What would be good is some variant of Amazon, where I could stream a small regular flow of money, and the kids could choose books or toys. It would be pathetically easy for their system to send me a mail to confirm any choices, so that I can stop them buying knives etc.
Saving up for something in such a system would be very easy, and could be made very attractive.
Also top-ups from grandparents etc who want to buy something, but are wary of getting it right with a kid 1/20th of their age. When a kid uses given credit on the system, it pops up an electronic thankyou card, in which they can write a message, and relative gets an email saying "thank you for helping me buy the Big Book of Wolves".
Not exactly without potential problems of course, DS1 wants to read the medical book "that tells you all the ways you can die", so he can keep himself well.
Any authors in MN land want to write a child safety book with attitude ?

Thanks you lot. All your comments are being very helpful. DS1 is extremely keen to do pocket money. His reason for it is because he wants some Pokemon cards and doesnt want to keep asking us for money. He wants to be able to buy stuff himself. I am very keen to encourage this attitude. I feel quite proud of him to want to be a little independant. I know DD is not going to be quite as sensible!! I can see the arguments over the amount of sweets she wants to buy starting now!

I think I am going to start with a base of 50p week and then they can earn up to £1.50 a week depending on the jobs they do. I am at £5! Scoobytwo - I think you should show them this thread to let them know how lucky they are

Getting my pens and paper ready for my chart

One thing that is hard to do is relinquish control of money - we've just been on hols, and gave 13 year old dd 20 Euros (about £15) for holiday spending. We had a barney after going to the supermarket as she wanted to spend it all on a Tamagotchi. She already has one (this is the new one apparently) but my feeling was that holiday money should be for something that you wouldn't get at home, or sweets/crepes/different treats etc, and fair enough if she didn't spend it on hols it was hers to keep and do as she liked at home. I know that I should let her make her own mistakes, but it's hard to relinquish control (Oh no, I'm turning into Gail off Coronation Street!) - somebody please tell me they have these situations too!

PS after all that, she did in fact buy some stationery with different characters on the next day, so without saying so I think she's glad she didn't get the blasted Tamagotchi!

dd1 who is 7 got £120 for her birthday, even though it is her money that does not mean she can decide what she spends it on, she has a choice but not complete control.

in the end she made some wise decisions she bought, a game for her ds, took some as spending money on holiday, bought a polly pocket toy fair who was half price and still has a bit left.

yes i should show my kids this,thing is i feel its only fair to give them the same amount as we go to the shop as a family to buy a magazine,sweeet&treat drink with their pocket money or sometimes they save it for something e.g holidays,i would feel awfull if my ds had enough money for a magazine but dd didnt

i used to do a chart but then they would fight over chores ie empty dishwasher
and i'm soft cause some weeks ds1 would get £2 and ds2 would get 40p so i would bump ds2's money up
my boys aged 9 and 10 dont get pocket money now i explain to them if they do the jobs i will pay:
for cubs each week which is £2.50 each
eating out
sweets on friday
cinema/soft play area
days out (going to cadburys world tomo)
magazine (delivery to door £10 per mth)
new clothes/trainers etc when needed
footballs
extra things at school (music, dance)

when its b/days we do spoil them its ds2 b/day tomorrow so got him a ds lite and 2 games and asked family for money as he wants a new bike.
it was ds1 b/day in june i threw a massave party with 53 children and gave him £50 but he did get £425 altogether and loads presents

my 9 and 8 year olds get 1.50 euros, and the 6 year old gets 1 euro.