How much pocket money do you give your 16 year old son?

[Yellowflowers7]

Mine has just turned 16 and is still getting £4 per week for emptying dishwasher. I think he probably needs more now as he has a long summer (as well as finding a job!) but not sure what is the going rate so to speak. Any thoughts would be helpful! Thanks

You should think about what you want him to be able to buy with it and what you can afford and work it out from that.

And would you be happy if he got a part time job or would that be a concern WRT taking time away from school etc?

My daughter got more than my son. That was because she wanted to buy her own clothes/toiletries etc so I gave her a budget for that whereas my son was happy with whatever I bought.

I used to give him an amount equivalent to the sum the local authority published as an expected amount of pocket money that should be given to children in care. It was something like £10-12 per week if I remember correctly.

I just looked up the current rate which is £12.50 per week for a 16 year old

That sounds about right. Some on here are overly generous!

Thanks this seems about right

DS15 gets £30 a month to pay for (non school/sports) clothes and going out with his friends. I pay phone, sports and everything else....

DS is 16yo and for the last year or so he’s been getting gets £50/month from grandparents as pocket money, and we give him a £50/month clothes allowance (which doesn’t include essentials like pants, pyjamas/dressing gown, socks, school uniform, school shoes and coat).

He barely spends any of it. He hasn’t grown for a year, so all of his clothes still fit and he got some trainers and a track suit for his birthday so didn’t need to buy any. He’s bought stationery, two pairs of jeans and two hoodies in a year and that’s it. He needs new shorts and a couple of polo shirts or shirts for summer, so will need to do a shopping trip soon. He’ll hate it!

It's very dependant on what you can afford! Mine get a pound for their age- so £13 and £11 respectively. But they buy their treats and often clothes as well for that. DS1 is mad about books and Doritos so he uses that and he saved up for converse shoes. DS2 uses his for roblox cards and is currently saving for a phone.

Totally depends on what you want them to pay for with it. Clothes, travel, lunches, phone, toiletries, gifts? If it's just socialising a few quid a week is fine. If it's everything else it'll be into the tens.

We stopped pocket money at 16. Still paid for basics & phone. They all got jobs to pay for wants.

It's so variable, you just have to go with what you can afford.

Ds2 gets £25 each from me, his Dad and his grandparents- so £75 a month. That's solely for going out, really. We cover everything else (e.g have just bought him an annual Thorpe Park pass).

From chatting with his friends' mums, we all expect them to look for a Saturday job once they've finished GCSEs. (so in just a few days!!). Haven't decided what to do about his monthly allowance after he gets a job though.

In year 11, our son used to get £100 per month. Then after GCSEs we gave him some money as a gift and to have a good summer with. Once he started college he got £180 a month.

My 7 year old gets more than that - £5 per week to spend o a magazine or save for her holiday / random Barbie.

Crikey times have changed
Realise I will sound like a dinosaur because I worked from 13 years old. My parents did give me an allowance to match my 'salary' until I was 15 and went to work at Waitrose at £1.41 an hour. Yes, this was the '80s, but perhaps a good model to look at

Yup - same here. Will treat for family meals out or pay for extra chores (car wash for example)
Both DC (17/18) in college/school and have weekend job.

My 17 y/o daughter gets £50 a month. She's at college and just about to start a new p/t job but I'll probably carry on with it. She's a good saver though so it's nice to see her learning to manage her money.

It was £20 a month basic, with the ability to earn up to another £20 doing various chores (DS2 chose cleaning toilets at £2 a go but rarely managed whole month) and their phone credit paid (£5 a month). I also paid for transport as we live rurally which isn't their fault.
Once they got part time jobs I stopped giving them pocket money but still pay phones and most transport costs.

Mine gets £80 per month and can earn extra for babysitting younger sibling, grass-cutting & dog walking. He has routine chores too that he has to do but they’re not linked to ££.