Pocket money for 4 yr old -conditions or not?

[WowOoo]

DH and I have been discussing this recently.

DS who has just turned 4 gets £1 a week.

I think he should get this even if he's broken a few rules/not done as he's told etc (he's only 4 FGS!) Dh think it should be taken away.
Also, if he wants to buy something with it, do we let him?!
I let him buy a Cbeebies magazine and he had to decide between that or a plastic toy. He's forgotten about the plastic crap he wanted and we are still using the magazine.

What do other people do with similar age children? Is he too young to start learning about money?

We put some away for him too.

Too young for pocket money imo.

Thought so. Thanks.

He loves his new piggy bank though. Will put my coppers in there instead...!

My dd has been having pocket money since she turned 5. She too gets £1 a week....however she gets 5p deducted everytime she misbehaves/doesn't do as she is told etc. She can save it or spend it. She recently saved it to buy some sparkly shoes!
Bee

Ds 4 doesn't have pocket money as such, he has stars possible of 9 a day and when he gets a hundred he gets to swap it for a small toy I have a bag full of toys and he gets to pick one when his target no of stars have been reached.

He also gets a sticker everyday when he has got all his stars. We started this about 6months ago and choose 5 of his difficult areas and 4 dead certs (so I got to tell him how good he has been everyday) 6 months on we have only one iffy star which he now gets 75% of the time.

My 6 year old doesn't get pocket money, she gets treats if she's good (sweats, toys etc..) but no money.

At that age we weren't giving pocket money, but obviously did treat them to small toys, sweets, etc. now and again. Can't remember exact age we did start giving regular pocket money, but it was probably about 7 or 8 when they could understand the basic concept of money reward in relation to good behaviour/small jobs, etc.

My five year old doesn't get pocket money, but she does get saturday sweeties that usually cost between 50 and £1. We do treat her to other things as well sometimes.

We've just started giving DS1, who is almost 5, £2.50 a week. No strings attached (he's expected to do chores at home unpaid just like everyone else) and it's up to him if he spends or saves it up. But he has to use this money for any toys/sweets/comics that he wants so hopefully it will encourage him to think and make careful decisions.

started ds1 with pocket money at just turned £4, he got £1 a week - he totally understood the concept, and very quickly learned to appreciate the value of his money.
ds2 is about the same age now, and 6 months ago I would have said he was nowhere near ready. He probably still isn't as ready as ds1 was, but having an older brother who does get pocket money and can buy things makes him think he is missing out.

DS1 5 has £1 a week - all his friends get the same and can't imagine it going up until he's 7. No conditions. We keep the amount small so we can still treat him ourselves sometimes. If we gave him as much as £2.50 he could have pretty much everything he wants which is not the point but thats because he generally has very small requirements bless him.

in this family is unconditional, slightly erratic - I don't always remember and neither does 4 yr old -and is 10p . enough to buy 2 lollipops.
No saving required unless he wants to put some in his piggy bank.
For fetes and the like he is given a pound to spend. Magazines I buy as a treat every now and then.

DD who is just 5 has recently been given pocket money based on certain tasks. On the whole she is a really good girl so the tasks she has to complete (for a tick-and therefore appropriate remuneration) are....making bed (well,pulling up her duvet),putting her dishes in the sink or dishwasher (I inevitably do this as am an obsessive "clean as you go" freak so she still gets a tick if I do it.She has to get dressed/undressed on her own and put all clothes in the laundry bag (not inside out) and finally,do her homework.
This probably sounds really harsh but she really enjoys doing most tasks and is really learning to understand the value of money. She is desperate to get 4 ticks a day and other than homework- no battles.

Ta for all the replies! Lots of ideas here.

I want him to learn to make decisions and thought the £1 a week was better than DH taking him to the toyshop and spending rather a bit more

Will change to 50p a week perhaps.

Do I dock it for bad behaviour or not? Still no idea....I can pretty much bribe him to tidy up his room for 2p, bless him.