Pocket money for children; 9 tips to think about

As I discovered when chatting to a group of parents about pocket money, the topic can get quite emotive and there are lots of different views about how much, when to start and whether or not to ‘pay ‘children to do chores.

Everyone in the group gave their children pocket but the amount was the tricky part. It seemed to be linked more to peer pressure about what everyone else was getting, rather than what the parents thought was appropriate.

This story from one Mum really highlighted the children’s understanding of the value of money.  “It was Xmas and the kids got an envelope with $20 in it from their aunt.  The 11 year old got mildly excited about $20.  The 7 year old thought it was a lot of money and the three year old wondered why his aunt had given him a pretty picture”.

11.5% of Teenagers Worry about Parent’s Finances

Teenager’s awareness of family financial issues seems to be on the rise.  Concern over parent’s ability to put food on the table, a decrease in the availability of part time work has been reflected in the Auckland university survey.  Does this really mean the problem is getting worse? Or are parents communicating to their teens more about financial matters than they have in the past?

A recent university of Auckland survey of 8,500 teenagers in 91 secondary schools as quoted in the NZ Herald has found some interesting (but maybe not surprising) results around what is happening in the household around money.  Teenagers are less likely to have a part-time job than the teenagers in 2001, where 49% of them had jobs compared to 26% in 2012.

It is quite easy to look at this statistic and say it is simply due to the global recession so there is less work around for teens, although I am sure there is an element of truth to that.