Pocket money

[bigmamma]

What's the going rate for a childs pocket money these days ? A couple of weeks ago I overheard a mother in Woolies . Her boy was looking at a toy and she said something like....no you get it with your �20 pocket money I gave you. Is this usual or not ?

[jiggy-gb]

Crikes! �20! When I was growing up I got just enough to get some sweets from the penny tray, a packet of fotty cards with rock hard gum (I was a tomboy) and my copy of Look-in, until I progressed to Jackie in 1977.

�20 seems rather a lot of money when you consider what it will buy you, almost 3 cd's in Tesco for a start!

[jiggy-gb]

LOL! That should have been footy, not fotty! I really shouldn't try eating soup and typing at the same time...

[SKA]

That seems abit much but at least he has to buy his own toys with it. Anyway it might have to last him for the next year or something!!

[Tigress]

My daughter who's 13 usually has about a fiver. I think that's plenty enough. If she really needs anything, ie for school etc, then I buy it, as it's only fair, and it's a necessity in my eyes. In a year or 2, she'll probably find some part time work, and we'll have to have a review of the situation then!!

[pastafreak]

I read an article recently that said many kids are spending it on cheap booze....not surprising if they get that much. The kid in Woolies probably had already drank his for the week!!! lol How you doing bigmamma?...feeing better I hope(seen any more naked men???)

[cazzz1975]

omg! 20 quid is a bit excessive!, my 10 year old daughter gets 1.50 pounds per week only if she does her homework and keeps her room tidy, I buy her little treats during the week she saves her money for the ice cream man who charges an extortionate 1pound for a normal ice cream!

[bigmamma]

Jiggy , lol , I can go back to getting 3p progressing to a huge 6p , I was one of 8 though and you could get a lot for 6p in the 60s :-)
SKA, I thought it may be a more than a weeks worth but as my son is now 23 I am out of touch with todays pocket money .:-)
xx

[Octavius]

Well hang on, the �20 could have been for a month, which means �5 per week. This is not so excessive is it? I know my nieces and nephews get it monthly and are taught to value it so it lasts!

The level of pocket money generally depends on the age of the child and what you are able to afford. No �going rates� as such, since everyone has a varying level of disposable income.

[Pippa68]

I'm with Octavius..I reckon it might well have been a monthly figure.

My two eldest kids get �20 per month from me, and �10 per month from their grandmother. The grandmother's pocket money is unconditional, however if they don't do their chores then the money I give them is cut. They know that money from me has to be earned, and that any extra luxuries they need must come out of that money.

[natalie_1982]

To me it sounds as though it was �20 for a month, which I don't think is excessive. I had my pocket money monthly.

Using jiggy's example, nowadays, a packet of stickers/ gum would be around �1? Sweets, say another �1? And a magazine, I am guessing, around �2. So �5 per week is not really a lot more in comparison, when you think about it.

I was guessing on the prices! As I don't have children I don't know how much sweets/ kids magazines cost so I am happy to be corrected!

[bigmamma]

Hello tigress , that sounds sensible :-)
Pastafreak , booze !! Didn't think of that but you are right , those alcopops or whatever they call them.
No naked men today ...so far ...lol....:-)
Cazzz, that's a good idea to give it to them after they do something for it , like keeping their room tidy.:-)
I gave my son what I could afford , the same as all parents I guess , but I bought his school bits and treats , you are right , an ice-cream for a pound and nearly that for a choc bar.
Hi Octavius , thought of that . It does tend to be dependant on income sometimes , when I was getting my 3p in a family of 8 , I dare say some single child was getting more , or maybe nothing . :-)
xxx.

[bigmamma]

Pippa , hello , I wondered that , �5 a week then won't be excessive will it , you sound sensible with your dealing it out too. :-)
My son used to get �10 a week from the age of 14 but �5 before that .
Hi natalie , it wasn't until I posted this thread that I even knew it was given monthly , not until I was thinking about this lads �20. :-)
xx

[Hellyon]

My 9 year old gets �10 a month or �2.50 a week. We felt it was an amount that if he wanted to save up for something like a CD or video game was obtainable in a reasonable amount of time whilst at the same time learning the value of saving.
He has already learned that if you squander it all at once then you have to go without for the rest of the month!

[Pippa68]

Hi bigmamma ~ is all well in your world? :o)

I find it quite amusing when people decide to remark on my children spending their �20 in Woolworths ..they seem to instantly think it is a weekly amount!

My eldest daughter (17) saves hers, whilst my son (14) spends his as soon as it hits his pocket, lol. I hope one day he learns that saving one month and spending the next is a better way of doing things.

I have had to think about upping the 17 year olds money as she is on her 2nd year of college and isn't entitled to EMA. Her friends who do receive EMA have more money than her :o(

[smudge]

Hi BM - My brothers, sisters & me used to get 6d for Saturday morning pictures. Then when we started senior school, we used to get 3d a day, going up a bit by time we left. (I was at senior school from 1958-62).

I was one of ten, so money wasn't freely available - mind you, we were well loved, fed & clothed, so that's all that mattered way back then. ;o}

[natalie_1982]

Hi bigmamma, hope you are well

Hi Pippa, the age gap between your children is the same between my brother and i, and every month I would save the majority of my pocket for something "big" (shoes, clothes, etc), yet he would squander his immediately on.... erm..... crap basically! must be something about boys!

[Pippa68]

LOL natalie, you could be right..

My son likes to spend his on food, believe it or not..he is a real 'foodie' and tries out all the cafe's and takeaways with his mates.

I didn't think my cooking was that bad ;o)

[Tigress]

Oh smudge, thant's such a lovely old comment that's not heard so much anymore. I think I'm gonna recite that one to my kids next time they get the "I wants!"

[Hellyon]

Oh i forgot to say he can earn extra by doing jobs around the house usual 20p for each task such as putting dishes in dishwasher, making bed, putting his dirty washing in laundry bin, dusting the windowsills etc. He gets �1 for tidying his room as it's a bigger job!