We've had the old pocket money debate a few times before here at Playpennies but I was shocked to learn today that, according to the latest research, my kids are grossly underpaid when it comes to pocket money.
The Mirror reports:
Rolling all cities into one, figures show a typical 8 to 11-year-old will get a weekly pocket money pay-out of £7.55 from their parents, this jumps to £9.01 a week when they hit the age of 12. This amount continues right through to their sweet sixteenth - when in the UK, teenagers can legally get a job.
A tenner a week?! With three kids I'd be bankrupt if I forked out to the tune of a tenner per kid by the time they each turn 12. Most kids claim they get less pocket money than their mates but I am starting to wonder if that might actually be true in the case of my kids.
The latest data comes from Equifax and also reveals that 98% of parents think kids should be taught personal finance at school. I couldn't agree more with that – I've not once needed to use Pythagoras' Rule since I first learned about it in school but I wish to goodness someone had taught me how to budget before I learned – the hard way – how important it is.
What bugs me about pocket money chat is that I think of myself as pretty generous when it comes to splashing the cash with my kids. Today alone I've dropped almost £20 on cinema tickets for all five of us, along with a stash of sweet treats to enjoy during the film and then we stopped for a burger on the way home. I'm deliberately avoiding totting up how much that little lot cost.
By comparison I might seem stingy if I admit to 'only' giving my kids £2.50 per week in pocket money but then I'm forever buying them comics or other inexpensive treats here and there. If I was going to hand over a tenner a week in pocket money, I'd have to scale back all those other little hand-outs and insist that they pay their own way more. I don't fancy that; I like being able to treat them as and when cashflow allows.
And don't get me started on the question of whether kids should 'earn' their pocket money. Aside from a quick bedroom tidiness inspection, I hand over pocket money without expecting my kids to earn it. Don't get me wrong; they do have to do chores. The point is I don't see why I should pay them to do their fair share of domestic tasks around the house.
But what's your view? How much pocket money do you think is reasonable? And do you think kids should earn pocket money? Leave us a comment below or come and join the conversation over on our Facebook page.
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