Do you give raises, or wait until they ask?

[OinkBalloon]

How do you decide how much pocket money or allowance to give your teen?

I noticed on another thread that people give their teens much more pocket money than we do. We do increase it every couple of years, but our teen has never actually asked for an increase.

Do your teens ask for raises? How do you respond? Do you decide unilaterally how much to give them? Do you wait until they ask?

We increase pocket money every birthday by a couple of quid but they just get £20 spends which goes direct into their bank accounts (they have cash cards to get at it or use in shops). We pay for all clothes and cinema etc. Will give DD clothing allowance at some stage but she is only 12 so not yet. DS, 15, would not spend any of it on clothes so not going there with him yet!

I do it when I think they need more - that isn't necessarily when they think to ask - DD is forever asking for more, and DS rarely does. But I can see from their lifestyles and money they have left whether what I'm giving them is enough.

I tend to do substantial increases that are tied in with taking responsibility for a new area (eg buying own stationary, clothes, etc) rather than birthday related increases

Agree with yellow, I have given raises when they seem to need it or when they started buying their own clothes. They have never asked for money.

I never gave allowances. They asked for money, I asked what for, I agreed or disagreed.

At 16, when they went to to sixth form, I paid £100 into their accounts on the 1st, from which they had to budget their living expenses like food at school and travel from. Occasional gifts of cash too, but no regular fun money. If they wanted/felt that they needed more - they got jobs.

Frugal DD didn't need to work until 18 in the summer before uni, whereas flasher DS got a job the second he turned 16 and got used to designer clothes early.

We do by birthday.... 13 yr old gets 13 per month, 16 yr old gets 16 per month, etc.