Pocket money. Please share your advice \ experience!

[BananaCake123]

DD turns 6 next week and has been asking if she can start having pocket money. That's probably a good idea but is that something that should be tied to doing something - eg tidying her room each week etc? Or do you think pocket money should just be given freely and that doing things like tidying her room are things she should be doing anyway (as part of her learning to be a responsible member of the family)?

Also, how much is reasonable to give a 6 year old these days?

I have a 6 and an 8 yr old and mine get 50p every sunday in term time provided they have done as they have been told over the weekend so for example if I ask my 8 yr old to clear the table she does it without arguing or she wont get her pocket money same for my son. They don't have any specific things to do as each weekend is different just to do as they are told and be respectful. They don't get pocket money over the holidays as we spend money on days out and treats. HTH xx

Mine are 8 and 5 and get £2 a week with no conditions attached.
My friend gives £1 a week and then the opportunity to earn an extra £1.

I definitely think household jobs should just get done. No one in a family is paid to do them, so don't kid DC that they well be. They tidy and help out because it is their home and they want it to look good and feel comfortable to live in.

We did link pocket money a bit to good behaviour. If they were vile to each other, it got cut by 50p.

We used pocket money mainly as a way to get them to understand how money works. We gave them the equivalent of the cost of a magazine they pestered for each week (about £2.50) and said they could buy the mag themselves. they quickly decided it was only worth having occasionally and preferred to save or spend on other things. They saved a lot of it when young then went out and bought toys they really wanted. I still remember the day they bought them - there was such pride on their faces that they hadn't wasted it all on sweets. Very cute.

my 8 and 11 year old get £5 per week not linked to chores. 50p wouldn't even buy a bag of crisps or a chocolate bar these days.

They tend to save it to buy bigger things e.g. console games, etc. They once clubbed together and bought a wii u with their money

8 year old gets £5 a week here. I don't expect anything in particular around the house apart from tidying her bedroom properly once or twice a week, maybe emptying the dishwasher if the two of us are in the kitchen and it needs emptying.

For me, being enthusiastic about instrument practice and homework is more important than doing chores right now. I did bugger all as a child tbh. School, homework and extra curricular takes up so much time I would rather she played than did chores.

Well I'm going against the grain here. We have a list of tasks stuck to the fridge, DC's get paid 50p if they complete a task (some are worth more). But tidy bedrooms and made beds are expected to be done anyway without payment.
I don't nag about the list, the idea being that they learn what needs doing and do it voluntarily, this tends to happen more when they are saving up for something! My DC's are 13, 10 & 7 it works better with the older 2 who are more money motivated.
We use GoHenry, with an app that tracks the tasks so they can see what they've earned, your DC may be a bit young for that yet though (it comes with a debit card). I hope that it teaches them some basic money management.
They get separate pocket money for holidays which they (sort of!) manage themselves.

Oh thank you all so much for taking the time to post . I think my feelings are very similar to those of lastlines. AS part of teaching DD to be a responsible member of the family, things such as tidying her room and helping out around the house should be done as a matter of course. However, there should also be an element of opportunity to "earn" extra amounts for good behaviour or doing extra things that go beyond normal family commitments. As to the amount of PM, there seems to be so much variation! When I was young I was given a set amount that was enough to pop to the shops after school on a Friday to get some chocolates and a comic - it seems that even taking account of inflation, this was much more easily affordable in those days - I'm shocked to discover that in today's money, I'd need to fork out about £3.50 to achieve this! As she's only just turning 6 and doesn't need a magazine every week I was thinking £1 - £1.50 would be a good amount to start with - with potential top ups from "extras" to a max of £2. After all, there will soon be quite a lucrative revenue stream coming from the tooth fairy as well . Do you think that sounds reasonable? Too generous? Too mean? She's only little and I don't think I want this to be something that has the potential for negativity\threats\conditions\bribery. I want her to enjoy herself, have a healthy respect for family, and learn something about money. Just need to find what the right balance is .

I think we all come at it from different perspectives Banana.

My thoughts are that by seeing us live as we do DD will become responsible, I did and I didn't lift a finger at home. I also think that school, music and the clubs DD does equates to a full time job out of the house in time terms - and homework, I didn't have homework in primary.

DD rarely spends her pocket money and we buy have been buying premium bonds with it when it gets to a certain amount.

She is a very sensible little thing, I just want her to have a bit of money to spend if she wants to - she wouldn't buy magazines, not enough value out of them for her. I do subscribe to Aquilia and Stew for her so she gets those anyway.

I think you just need to do what you feel happy with. For me it is £5 a week, no strings attached, but she does tidy her room when asked, puts her dirty clothes in the laundry bin and always puts her things away elsewhere in the house when she has finished with them. She knows I expect that so it is never voiced, apart from asking her to tidy her room once a week or so.

My two younger DC don't get pocket money but will when they reach secondary school. Eldest DD (14) gets £20 for buying clothes that are not essential and paying for treats. She wants an allowance to buy everything but I'm not going to do that until I'm certain she is careful with money and old enough (so maybe in Year 11 or something)

DS (14) gets £20 a month and helps out most in the family- regularly cleans cars, keeps bedroom spotless, helps the gardener move stuff (the gardeners only a wee little old man), washes the pans and takes the dog out on a walk when he goes running at the weekend.

DD1 (11) gets £10 a month and takes the bins out, keeps her room tidy, gives the cat her pills (which is not pleasant), empties the litter tray, empties half the dishwasher and walks the dog in the evenings with her little sister.

DD2 (8) gets £5 a month and keeps her bedroom tidy, empties the other half of the dishwasher, waters the indoor plants and walks the dog with DD1

My perspective is that everyone should play a role in helping out at home but they should also get rewarded for it.

My boys are 4 and 8 and get £1 a week, no strings attached. I do expect them to keep their own rooms tidy and help out when asked, but not linked that to pocket money. They get sweets once a week in addition to their pocket money, we only visit the sweet shop once their rooms are tidy. We use a website called Roosterbank that is a virtual bank account - you set it up to add a weekly or monthly allowance then can add or deduct money for purchases, birthday money etc. We started off giving them a coin but they tended to lose it or we'd forget, or not have change. Roosterbank gets them used to having to check if they have funds before buying something and encourages them to save.

I'm looking into pocket money apps to track pocket money (I always forget to give it out and they lose track of it. Plus to add money for chores or tasks. Does anyone have an opinion (not usually a shortage of those on mumsnet!) on what are good apps? Thanks!