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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

If your teen doesn't get EMA...............

35 replies

lilibet · 13/09/2009 15:36

Do you give them 'pocket money' ?
And do they have to do anything to get the pocket money?
Or do you expect them to get a part time job?

Ds1 doesn't qualify for EMA but money is still tight due to other children, mortgage etc (the sort of things that the govt don't take into acount when calculating it ) and after a conversation with a mate whose daughter gets £20 a week and they give her £10 pocket money I just wanted to see what other parents did.

OP posts:
noddyholder · 13/09/2009 15:39

I will watch with interest as ds is 15 but next year when he is at college I will have to rethink the money.Don't know anything about EMA how is it calculated?My ds has a lot of wealthy mates which is a pita already so this is likely to be another thing to work out.

Original poster
lilibet · 13/09/2009 15:43

It's calculated on household income, not sure of the exact figures but it's either £10, £20 or £30 per week for attending college and I think the maximum income is about £30k.

OP posts:
noddyholder · 13/09/2009 15:45

Oh ok will have to look.Really all 16 yr olds should get something

mumblechum · 13/09/2009 16:40

DS won't get EMA, and Saturday jobs round here are v. hard to find.

He'll still get his allowance of £70 a month (I pay for all clothes etc,) till he goes to Uni then I suppose we'll up his allowance to cover his rent, bills etc (won't get student loans either).

He's supposed to bring the logs and coal in daily for his pocket money but doesn't really do anything in the summer months officially, but if I ask him to give me a hand with anything he will.

TheDMshouldbeRivened · 13/09/2009 16:52

ds does get EMA but it all goes on his bus fares to get to 6th form. So he still gets his CB and out of that must pay for all clothes, social events and bus fares that aren't school.

juuule · 13/09/2009 18:27

No EMA here.
Only allowance is money for necessities e.g bus fares. They work part-time for anything beyond that.

mumblechum why won't your ds be eligible for a student loan? All students living away from home can qualify for the student maintenance loan afaik.

juuule · 13/09/2009 18:30

Actually thinking about it, the necessities probably add up to similar to mumblechum's ds allowance.

saggarmakersbottomknocker · 13/09/2009 18:32

ds2 has just finished his A2s and didn't get EMA. I paid for his bus pass (which was more expensive because we didn't get EMA ), college related items and £10 a month on his phone. He got a job to pay for everything else; clothes, social etc.

mumeeee · 13/09/2009 18:33

DD317 doesn't get EMA. We give her £30 (she has to pay for non essetial clothes out of this and all her social outings)) a month and pay for all college expenses ( she gets a free bus pass). We expect her to try and get a job but these aren't easy to come by. She has tried very hard and has not got anything yet.

mumblechum · 13/09/2009 19:00

Juule, he'd be eligible but we wouldn't want him to get into debt so will be funding him from savings.

juuule · 13/09/2009 19:06

Oh - I see.

Milliways · 13/09/2009 21:32

DD didn't qualify - even when DH lost his job as it is all on hstoric income, but we gave her £40pm and she had a job (but wages went straight to bank and stayed there to help fund Uni).

sockadoodledo · 13/09/2009 21:35

They had jobs
EMAs a joke

mamhaf · 13/09/2009 21:52

DD1 has tried and failed to get a job.

I've now finished our cleaner, and am paying dd1, 17, to help out instead, at £5 an hour (the cleaner was £8 an hour).

DD1 no longer has an allowance as a result.

It doesn't bring in any extra income, but we're not paying out £120 a month either.

I'm hoping DD1 will find a job soon though because I think it's important for her to have a track record of employment.

And, as she's just had a birthday and loads of birthday money, the imperative for earning had reduced somewhat- dh and I had to do all the cleaning this weekend and we've just had a "discussion" about it.

We still pay for her school and sports clothes and equipment and music lessons.

KathH · 13/09/2009 21:59

DD1 who's 16 1/2 doesnt get EMA. She has a paperound which she gets paid 15 pounds per week and a waitressing job which she does twice a week and gets 32 pounds per shift. We pay for busfares, school clothes and essentials but if she wants treats for herself such as phone credit, magazines etc she has to pay for it herself. We also make her put 15 pounds a week into her her savings account.

Original poster
lilibet · 13/09/2009 22:45

Thanks everyone, we pay for busfares, staionery, essential clothes. He gets £10 a fortnight from his dad.

I offer him money for jobs at home but he won't do them, nag him to get a job but it's hard work.

I feel guilty when his mates buy nice lunches with their EMAs and he takes a packed lunch, when they ask him to go places and he can't go because of having no money but he just won't work for it.

Then when I heard that mates give their chikdren money over and above their EMA I was so I thought I would find out if I was being mean.

Dd worked all through college to fund her clothes and shoes habit, even managed to save for a car, so we can't be seen to treat them unequally.

OP posts:
Ponders · 13/09/2009 22:51

DS (16) doesn't get EMA & does have a job (c £40 a week). His bus pass is £380 for the year, we give him £10 a week towards lunches & pay for eg shoes for school.

What really really pisses me off is the number of really wealthy people we know where the parents are divorced & have good accountants so the mother has minimal income (even if remarried to another wealthy man, which doesn't count) so despite both parents having houses worth c £400K the child gets max EMA

These kids will also get max grant etc when going to uni. Makes me very

mumeeee · 13/09/2009 22:52

I do give DD3 lunch money once a week so that she can have lunch with her friends. The £30 a month is not linked to jobs she does around the house, She washes up and hoovers when asked and she takes turns in cleaning the bathroom but she would still get the £30 even if she doesn't do this. I will pay her for ironing ( because it's a job I hate) so she can earn a bit of extra money but she only gets 25p an item.

TheDMshouldbeRivened · 14/09/2009 08:14

ds1 has been searching for a job since his GCSE's finished but so far nothing (this is town with two universities in). He is pissed off all his EMA has to go on bus fares to get to his college.

APoisonTree · 14/09/2009 08:15

My Daughter has a weekend Job.

MitchyInge · 14/09/2009 09:13

No EMA here, but her DLA goes straight into her own bank account now - that's nearly £360 a month - which covers most of her essential expenses.

Macforme · 14/09/2009 19:02

No EMA here.. it bugs me that they don't take into account the size of the family.. I have 4 teens and we make just above the cut off line

I have given pocket money until they have jobs.. my 17 yr old is yr 13 and works on a sunday..pays for her own bus pass and anything social but I help out with essentials ..I don't expect her to buy her own shampoo/san products or anything but she buys her own clothes and makeup unless it's Xmas or birthday!
my 16 yr old is a nightmare.. can't save a penny..give him £1 he spends 2... but he got a saturday job today (hope he keeps it!) and so now will get no pocket money and will have to run his own moped to college. The younger two get pocket money..and they all have to do house hold jobs.

I still give all of the lunch money every day..but only £2 each..anything else they have to take or make from home!

Milliways · 14/09/2009 19:42

Most of DD's friends used their EMA to pay for Driving lessons!

She felt it most when they all got their "bonuses" for good attendance etc.

Anyway, she has done well with her saving, so I don't regret giving her £40pm as she has saved well over £6k from her jobs which will be a big help at Uni.

alypaly · 15/09/2009 00:42

My son is 17 in nov and he earns his pocket money by doing the elderley neighbours lawns...

alypaly · 15/09/2009 00:43

BTW he does get ema but that is being put away for books and stuff to help with university