Pocket money at 11

[seeker]

My dd is 11. I've been thinking about her pocket money. I was thinking about an allowance to cover lunch and phone and everything, but I don't think she could manage that. So I thought if I put 5 pounds on her phone every week, and gave her the bare minimum for lunch, then 20 pounds for shopping, going out and everything else. Does that sound too much or about right?

£5 on her phone every week at 11!

DD1 has switched her PAYG mobile to a special text rate, she texts but rarely phones. I top up as and when she needs it.
She has spent less than £30 since last Christmas - she is 13.

Is the £20 per week or per month?

Sounds a bit too much, seeker.
We gave dd £10 a month allowance at 11, but we paid for her lunches direct to school.

Now she is 13, she gets £12 a month, with £5 a month on her phone.
She's just started a paper round and earns herself £10 a week.

20 a month, not a week!

I didn't realize that 5 was a lot for a phone! We do live in the back of beyond and she has to phone me for lifts and to tell me what bus she's on and stuff like that. Does it still seem too much?

Perhaps you could check the phone tariff she's on and try to work out how much she'd need to spend to keep in touch with you, and then add a bit more on for chat to friends? Maybe £5 a week in your situation is entirely reasonable.

I wouldn't give her £20 a month, though, if my experience with dd is anything to go by. Spend, spend, spend, comes to mind.
But your dd could be the sort to think before she buys? Mine isn't! - although getting better now.

Re the lunches, I'd pay for them directly if you can. At least you know then that she has spent the money on food, not to buy something else.

HTH

I suppose it depends how much she spends on necessary phone calls. We live 13 miles from DDs school. She travels on the school bus so she would only have to phone me if she missed it. If I have to contact her I do it by text, on the understanding that she replies immediately or I will follow with a call. Texting is easier here because the signal is not always great as well as being cheaper.

I think £20 per month is fair.

Mine get £10 a month at 11 with me crediting their phone £10 per month
£20 a month at 12.... £5 on phone
£25 a month at 13..... they top up phone themselves
£30 a month at 14........ top up themselves
£40 a month at 15 ........... top up themselves
£50 a month at 16 ........... top up themselves

Haven't thought beyond that! But as soon as they are earning..... the allowance will stop. From 14 they can supplement their money by babysitting for others. They babysit for me for free because we're family (thereby saving me a small fortune)

My teenagers get £5 per week directly deposited into their bank accounts. If they buy money for something that I should be paying for, I transfer the amount into the account. They have to pay for their own calls. They can earn money by babysitting and gardening, and both have 'businesses' at school.