who gives pocket money and how much???

[sexkittyinwaiting]

I was just wondering about the whole pocket money situation. My two eldest are 7 and 8. I haven't given them any pocket money yet. I really don't know if most people do and how much they give to what age children. Do your children have to 'earn' their pocket money etc?

DS aged 7 gets 2 quid a week for basic chores -- getting himself dressed, tidying bedroom, behaving well at school...

extras can be earned... 50p for good spelling tests, 75p for movin laundry etc...

We introduced pocket money so that there would be something to take away when they're naughty. They get £3 a week, but can diminish by £1 at a time for bad behaviour.

My dd1 gets 50p a week plus 10p for charity. She doesn't get any extra atm - I think certian things children should do and help out around the house w/o getting paid - when the dcs are older then they can earn extra by doing bigger jobs like car washing.

Dd1 is nearly five, btw.

That's the thing. I think that they shouldn't get paid for helping around the house, especially if they are tidying theiir own mess. I like them to have a sense of group responsibility. It's a tricky one, but I would like to give them something.....

Just say that they are older, and can have their own money for making their choices about. They can save it, spend it, whatever. But make clear what you are prepared to keep buying for the, e.g one comic a week?

I think saving and managing money is a good thing for dcs to learn.

I have just started ds1, he is 4y4m. He gets £1 a week. He has to be generally helpful (which he is anyway) and has a specific 'thing' which he has to work at each week (putting his own seatbelt on, helping empty the dishwasher etc). I am choosing things that he can do but which he moans about - I have found that after the week he happily keeps doing the targeted 'chore'. At the moment he is saving it, though I fear that it is destined for the Hama Beads!

DD1 is 15-she gets £7.50 a week but for this she has to wash up 3 eves a week,empty the airing cupboard twice a week,tidy toy room for me once a week and keep her room tidy which icludes stripping her bed and remaking it once w week.
dd2 is 12 and £5 a week-she washes up twice a week,walks the dog briefly daily and cleans the bathroom once a week.
Both have opportunity to earn more but lose 50p through door slamming or unreasonable behavior.For every pound they save i add 25 % as this was the only way to get dd1 to save !
DD1 babysits for a friend at 3.50 an hour and dog sits for the same amount.
It really helps because she can buy the bits and bobs she wants now.

I did try it but can never afford it, r remember to do, i buy them magazines though. i pay for ds 12 to go to youth club.i do feel veyr guilty, soimetimes.

You mustn`t feel guilty.
Theres far more to life than money and materials .
I wish i could spend more time with my children-and thats free .
I dont buy magazines for mine because they only seem to want them for whatever crappo freebie is going with it-dont think they read it then.
Funny when they have their own money how they dont buy the magazines themselves now !

we have a pile of magazines, along with newspapers, unread, but kept just in case.
i spose monthly pocket money would be easier, then it is out of the way..

I find it a real eye opener when we're in the supermarket say and they ask for a toy and I say of course if they buy it with their birthday money. All of a sudden they don't fancy it anymore. It's easy to spend someone else's money isn't it?

just to say my ds now (in full time work now) never got pocket money...we usually gave him money for specifics like going to cinema with a mate etc...hes better at handling his money than my 2 step children (of similar age) who both got pkt money...my other children (x2) get 50p from nanny every now and then which is being saved for specific toys that they didnt get for xmas that they desperatly 'need'/want...i do argree with the whole not being paid for doing normal chores round the house...we are busy enough these days...they help make the mess..they help tidy up...dd2 especially just loves to help me with chores..i guess it depends on finance (re;bandstand...with u on that one) the child and your views ...you seem to know what feels right ...so go with that!

i know some well organised people who have a rota..too muddly in this house

ds1 who is nearly 8 earns his pocket money, he has jobs that he does and we make a note of what he does on a list and then when dh gets paid we "pay" his pocket money, along with any extras he has earnt, doing well at school etc. (he got 96/100 on spelling test, think that deserves extra)

bandstand, don't feel guilty. Def. agree, there is more to life than things.

I find magazines a good investment as they do get read, over and over, and then I cut them up for the dds to make collages with. But they are at the right age for that, older dcs will just think that is sad!

DSs are 7 and 9, they get 80p and £1 per week respectively. We don't deal in cash though, it all gets written in a book, and they usually save up for something 'special'.

Lots of their friends get much more though, and peer pressure is starting to kick in.

Rosin, that's a great idea about the book. One of the things putting me off was having to be organised enough to have the readies every weekend. I know they like to physically HAVE the money but if I can't do it so that it's once a month, that would be much more managable. I'm thinking about £1.50 per week?

we've never got to grips with the pocket money thing. Dh gives them a pound every now and then.

I can't claim credit for the book idea sexkitty - it came from mn of course: several years ago. I've no idea who though!

It also teaches them how a record of an account is written, (columns for IN OUT and BALANCE), and it doesn't matter if we don't write pocket money in for a month, they get it in the end.

When we started pocket money we told them they could spend a maximum of 20p on sweets, the rest was up to them, and I do grit my teeth and allow them to spend it on junk sometimes! But they have actually learned that it makes far more sense to save up and buy, say, a lego kit, or a book, or a game. When they get money for Christmas or birthdays it goes in the book too.