Pocket Money
Help Me To Parent Ltd - January 2009
Do you wonder if it’s better to give your child regular pocket
money or just act as their ATM machine? Every time you enter a
shopping centre, you run the risk of coming out with your purse
or pockets empty. Children today have many demands, they want
to have what their peers have and parents are under pressure to
provide it all.
Many parents ask for advice about giving pocket money to their
children. Factors such as your own financial circumstances, the
child’s age and their grasp of managing money are all things
that need to be considered.
At Help Me To Parent, we believe that there are many benefits
of giving pocket money to your child as this can:
Introduce them to the concept of managing their money
Allow them to make choices about what they want to spend their
money on
Give them a degree of responsibility for budgeting their own
money
Allow you to agree a plan of what they need to do to ‘earn’
their pocket money
So how much is appropriate? It is best to get the child
involved in agreeing the amount with you. You can start by
listing items they want to spend their pocket money on. This
exercise will vary depending on the child’s age but it is a
good guide to help you to decide what amount is appropriate.
Don’t feel that just because an item is on the list that the
expense has to be covered, you make the decision on whether
this is a valid request or not!
A good way to do this is to think about and agree what the
money can be used for. For example, if the child gets €5 per
week, then you could agree that €2 must be saved and the rest
can be used to purchase treats such as sweets or a magazine
etc. The amount saved can be used to buy bigger treats or
towards gifts for family members at birthdays, Christmas
etc.
It is important that when you do give pocket money that you
stick to the agreed amount and don’t hand out extra money
throughout the week. This will help the child to budget and
manage what they spend. Although it may be hard to refuse to
give them more money, leaving them to do without something will
encourage them to manage their pocket money more carefully the
next time. If there is an occasion where you want to give them
more money, agree that the amount is an advance from the next
pocket money payment or that they do something to earn the
extra money.
As part of the pocket money agreement, you might list some
chores or household tasks that the child must complete in order
to ‘earn’ the pocket money. The task should be appropriate to
their age in terms of safety and their ability to complete the
task. At least one task should be for the general household.
The same is true for teenagers. They are older and can take on
more responsibility so this should be reflected in the tasks
they are assigned.
The time by which the tasks on the pocket money list should be
completed should be clear. This will save arguments or
‘nagging’ the child to complete the task. A good idea is to
have a day and time by which the task(s) should be completed
and the day and time that they receive their pocket money
should follow. It is also possible to make pocket money
dependent on good behaviour around the house and for some of it
to be taken away if a child misbehaves. The child is best
warned of this (if you misbehave again you will lose some
pocket money) and you should never take away all their money -
it is important they always get something.
As with all parenting situations, the golden rule is that you
must follow through. No matter how difficult it is for you to
not give the pocket money if the agreed tasks are not
completed, you must stick to the agreement. Remember, you are
teaching your child basic skills in managing money and earning
rewards. These skills will be of great benefit to your child
throughout their life!
Finally, when it comes to teenagers, keep a close watch on how
they are managing their money. If your teenager is using too
much of their pocket money too quickly, talk to them about it.
You need to keep a close check on what the money is being spent
on and be conscious that the money is not being used for drink
or worse again, drugs.
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