Is 5 too young to get POCKET MONEY?

[noonar]

dd1 has just had her 5th birhday and experienced the joys of spending power, when she was given a £10 in a card.

she's now started pestering us about getting pocket money. is she too young, do you think? if not, do you think £2 p w would be ok? she was given a piggy bank for her b day and i think the whole saving up and having to wait for something process, might be helpful to her?

how old were your dc when you started giving pocket money? and how much?

Dd is 4 (nearly 5) and gets £1 a week poscket money (although she usually ends up with £1 from me and another from dp!)

she ONLY gets this is she has more stars on her star chart than crosses (whjich always happens!)

She has saved this money to buy lots of things and i think she appreciates tham more, also she lvoes going to the shop with erh purse and putting money on the counter and saying "I am paying with my own money!")

My DS who's 5 gets £2 a week and has been getting pocket money for a couple of years. Just fell into it as he has older siblings who get pocket money so he wanted it too. Think it's helped him understand money and he understands when he's explained that he can't have something or we can't do something because it's too expensive. I'm afraid he can't get to grips with saving though!

Just did some teaching observations in a primary school and the Year 1 teacher has been teaching since 1971. She is trying to teach the children the concept of change and they are struggling to get it even though they can do basic subtraction. She said it is a much bigger problem now than it used to be cos so many kids don't have their own money to spend, even if it is only 10p to spend in the local shop. She said you can always spot the kids who do get pocket money because they understand it so much better.

I definitely plan on giving mine pocket money from a young age but intend to keep it fairly low so that if they want something like a comic that comes out fortnightly then they will have to save some of one week's money. Hopefully they will end up with a better idea of money and saving than dh!

ds1 (4.5y) has £1 a week, started 2 months ago. So far he has spent his on a couple of power ranger figures (he had some xmas money aswell) and packs on hama beads. Currently has around £12 in his money box.

Not too young to start teaching the value of money, IMO.

If you can "pay" him for his chores, and encourage "saving" for something special, then go for it.

I wouldn't just give him the money though....

When I was a kid I used to lose pocket money for biting my nails. I used to get like $1 a week, and for each nail I bit I lost 10p....

We started giving ds (5.5) & dd (2.5), £2 each a week pocket money. We didn't plan to give that much but wanted to base it on what we got - enough for a comic & a couple of sweets.
But comic's start at £1.95, and you can no longer get 4 blackjacks for a penny!
DS is very good at saving and has brought himself two decent sized 'hot wheels' sets as well as the cars he has also brought stickers etc.
DD is more of a problem as it should be her choice but she always picks such crap.

What we have just changed it to is:
DS gets the monthly 'Shaun the Sheep' magazine & 2 x £1 coins
DD gets the fortnightly & more expensive 'Fifi''s world' magazine & 2 x £0.50.
DS can still save up a reasonable amount, while DD who still gets 2 coins gets less money to waste on crap

ds1 started getting pocket money from my Mum when he started primary school, when he was 4.10. She gives him £1 a week but in two x 50ps - one has to go in his holiday jar - for holiday spends (obviously ) and the other he can spend on what he likes.

He absolutely loves it and usually manages to save up £2 or £3 which is enough for some bit of plastic trash he's got his eye on. If he wants something more expensive either we agree to help him with it or he does 'jobs' to earn more - the favourite at the moment is putting his bowl/plate etc. in the kitchen after meals - and if he clears up everyone's plates etc. he gets 50p! .

I think it's really good - he's starting to know the value of things and we've always told him when things are too expensive so he never expects to be bought stuff all the time because he understands Mummy goes out to work to earn money but sometimes there isn't enough to buy ..... (insert anything to do with Star Wars/Harry Potter/Power Rangers).

havent read all posts but at 5 I would do a star chart and every ten stars gets her a little gift. categories on chart can include - learning spellings, tidying room, saying please/thanks, putting shoes away etc. Nothing too strenuous or diff but someting to give a sense of achievement. hth

5 is not to young for pocket money but I think £2 a week is to much. My brother gives his children 15p per year ( age) a week so in this system a 5 year old would get 75p and it would then go up 15p on each birthday.
His children are perfectly happy with this system and it sems to work well,

just come back to this thread. thanks for all your posts.

debbies, was interested in your post. funnily enough, i actually want my dd to NOT be able to afford a magazine, as they are such a rip off! so, have decided on £1. i wouldnt mind her buying comics if she actaully read them, but £2 is alot for a tacky free gift.

dd1 is 7 and gets £1 and dd2 is 5 gets £1.dd1 will go up when she goes to junior school.dd2 used to spend evrything whilst dd1 saved but now dd2 wants a Dora dvd and a lemon tree so is saving up!