pocket money question

[mouses]

hi
just wondering how much is recommended? DC's are 13, 10 & 4.
I want my 10yr DS to understand the value of money as he has gone through 4 or 5 tablets and money burns a hole in his pocket! older DS s really good with money and still has some left from his birthday back in dec.

I was also thinking of using it with behaviour issues too - like deducting so much from the weekly amount if repeatedly asked to do something which winds me up the most. I have to ask over and over again for the DS's to put clothes in wash basket, tidy room, get ready for school etc...
good idea, bad idea?

im hoping they will learn that if they want something they need to manage money and save, also that my 10yr old will respect his stuff more if he's saved up for it?
any advice would help thanks

I don't think there are hard and fast rules.

I think it's how much you can realistically afford, what's the going rate among their friends - so you don't go too high or too low - again, depending on what's affordable for you, whether the money is just for frivolities or whether it is, say, a monthly amount that they have to get certain necessities with, etc.

My 15 yr old gets £6 a week, my 14 yr old gets £5 a week.

It's not very high, but I give them an annual amount for clothes shopping, if I organise any trips they get some money, they don't need to pay fares out of it, or toiletries, etc.

So I think first of all decide what it is that the money would be spent on.

Do you want them to start to save?

are you going to give it in cash or bank transfer?

Are you going to give them a small basic amount and they then have the option to earn more by chores? (always a good lesson)

well I was hoping it will teach my younger ds the value of things and to stop the need to waste every penny in days on sweets and or comics. his dad (ex partner) gave him a fiver and ds bothered me every day, (3 or 4 times a day) to go shop for sweets - I repeated myself telling him to save it for something worth buying.
it would be cash into a money box (that I need to buy) im useless with banks, transfers?

as for chores, im quite obsessive about cleaning and like it done properly lol i do ask ds's to wash their dinner plate if they haven't brought the plate out whilst i was washing up - and i have to do them again after.... so gave up asking

was thinking more of it being a set amount and not upping for chores to be honest. just didn't want to give too much/ little?
is it common to give older child abit more then younger siblings?

oh another reason why is because of my childhood upbringing...
i never got pocket money and felt like an 'outcast' when all the other kids went to the shop after school or when i met up with my friends at weekends / holidays they would go to the shops and id feel like a looser
i started to steal from my mums purse and peoples property during school to get money to fit in.. id hate for my kids to feel the same.

ime it is normal to give different amounts to children of different ages, yes. Sometimes only a token amount. Pocket money often increases with age.

A 5yr old might get 50p a week. Try giving that to a 15yr old

So is it then fair that younger siblings get whatever the older one is at any given time? Should they not start on the 50p also? Imagine being the older child and remembering that when you were 8 you got £2 but now you are 14 you get £5 but your 8 yr old sibling also gets £5 because your mum wants to be fair to them.

I do internet banking and put theirs directly into their accounts. It's easier for me and it also starts to get them familiar with banking. Looking at statements, withdrawing money, the idea of saving and interest (ha!) plus I find they're less likely to buy crap if it involves a trip to the bank / a cash machine first. Having money in the bank leads to learning to budget and plan and all sorts of essential adult life stuff like that.

yes i hear most people give the older siblings more, although my oldest ds is good with keeping money he is the worse tormentor going and would rub it in ds2's face that he's got more - wih maybe a lecture on how much better he is at saving money and cos he's bigger, smarter ....

i think i will start out with equal amount first off and see how it goes? maybe because id liked them to feel equal lol as you say a mum wants it t feel fair lol they've never had pocket money so there wont be no ''when i was his age...'' moaning

my 2 get £5 per week (age 8 and 11)

Whenever they start having pocket money you have to go through the phase where they immediately spend it all on Tat, then you have to say strong when they ask about other stuff.
Only by not having money when they really want something really special will they start to appreciate it.

yes lonecat that's what im trying to achieve hopefully they will change his views on wasting his money in a hurry.
i know they will buy tat for a while, i did it when i got my first Saturday job as a teenanger - but it taught me in no time to stop and think.

whats peoples views on deducting from weekly money for misbehaviour? yay or nay?

to all those who do pocket money do you give it for doing chores and helping or just give it for nothing?

see my view on chores is that its every day life skills that they need to know/ learn but i don't feel you need to pay them for it - i don't get paid to wash every ones clothes, cook, clean etc i do it because its needed. if you see what i mean?
i wouldn't want my sons to move a muscle only when money is waved at them because their future wives wont be waving money at them to get their backsides off the sofa but that's just my opinion.

my main aim is to teach them how important it is to know when and what to spend money on and someone up thread said about appreciating it when you have it.
but im asking peoples opinion on deducting for misbehaviour. might solve two problems at once

yeah I understand what you are saying, when I was younger to get my pocket money I had to do basic things like make my bed, put dirty clothes in washing basket. Nothing major, I just don't want my three boys to grow up thinking people hand you money for nothing.

My two get 50p a week for every year of their lives. So DD1 (11) gets £6 a week, and DD2 (8) gets £4:50.

The money is for spending on their tat. DD1 spends hers on trips to the cinema etc with friends and shopping trips. She likes her labels (Superdry, Hollister, Jack Wills etc) so is constantly saving for that. However, she gets most of her stuff at the outlet - so only £10 - £15 for a T-shirt.
However, I tend to buy her all the important stuff she needs - pay for her hobbies, and when she goes shopping / cinema I'll give her extra for food.

DD 2 however, likes spending her money on clothes. She loves fat face, Nike, pineapple etc.

Neither spend their money on tat, or magazines, but are constantly saving for things...

yea see what you mean, but i just think kids should make beds and put washing away because its a must and not a job haha
i never got a penny growing up but i knew you have to work to get money so i think your boys will grasp it ok. infact i couldn't wait to get a job to get some money to buy my own clothes instead of my sisters hand-me-downs!

by the way i was born in 82

My dd1 is only 4yo so haven't quite got this all worked out yet but I'm currently giving her £4 a month. She has to put 10% in her piggy bank and 10% in collection at church but she can spend the rest.

She currently does chores to earn laptop time. I don't want to link chores with pocket money because I don't want to deprive her of the opportunity to learn how to handle money if she turns out to be a lazy sod!

I was born in 1982 too! Ha!

Mine get 3.00 a week each. They're 9 and 11.

I don't dock it for behaviour (I prefer to take their gadgets or tv away) but dh does.

Ds spends his on pokemon cards and sweets, or saves it for larger items like games or lego etc.
Dd buys clothes, make up and books. She always has plenty saved whereas ds never does.

I give them the same because stuff isn't any cheaper for ds just because he's a bit younger.

I'm happy to take them shopping for anything they need, but the rest is up to them to save for. They both have bank accounts, ones they can access and ones they don't even know about, where we have saved a bit for them. They'll get access to those for specific things when they're older.

I think you have to let them make a few mistakes with their pocket money in order for them to learn the value of money and how far it will go.

haha snap my dd is 4 too
im more focused on the boys, will work on dd when shes older, she asks for everything when im out but answer is NO haha i give her pennies in her little hand bag, as she likes to act 'mummy' and she is so innocent offering me her 2p to pay for shopping (ahh melt)

thanks clivecussler
yes i buy all their needs but they can save for all their 'i wants' [winks]