A recent article in the Daily Telegraph provided some food for thought on this topic. According to the report, about 37% of Oz 10-11 year old children receive weekly pocket money. The study also found 94% of parents pay their children to help around the house.
In our family, only our eldest girl gets pocket money each week. We only started to give her the money ($10 per week) in Year 5 when she started taking the train home after school. Ash is tight with her cash, so most weeks, she saves the full amount. Now that she is in high school, she gets $20 per week. Again, she has been saving most of it since she doesn't buy anything from the tuckshop at school since she prefers to pack her morning teas and lunches. With the money, she will use it to buy birthday gifts for Mum and Dad as well as Caitlin. At Christmas, she is pretty generous too.
Lately, our youngest has also asked for pocket money. But she is still too young, although we are teaching her about money. Cait has now asked us to pay her for the chores that she does - set the table for meals and empty the bin in her room on garbo nights. But I don't subscribe to the idea of paying her for doing her chores. My rationale is the home is shared by everyone who lives here, therefore, everyone should pitch in to help. After all, many hands make light work right?
What are your thoughts about giving pocket money to children?
My son is 4. I reward him in kind when he is extra helpful. I don't pay him for ordinary housework :)
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