Pocket money for a 9 year old

[TheGoodEarth]

How much pocket money should a 9 year old get and what should they need to do to earn it?

We are considering introducing the concept to help our daughter appreciate the value of money but are not sure of the best way to structure it or how much to give. Forum views much appreciated.

[crowsashes]

i personally think a pound or two a week is more than enough for a 9 year old, my little brother ( hes 7 ) gets his pocket money on a friday and hes allowed to choose between a magazine or a packet of those penguin cards. but the conditions are, he keeps his room clean, he goes to bed on time with out fuss, has a bath when asked and puts his toys away when hes done with them. and there are a few others too!

he has a sticker chart up and only if he fills up all the blocks he gets his pocket money. so for him its a reward for good behaviour rather than payment for jobs. even though there are 'jobs' on there. 99% of the time it works and he gets his reward.

maybe you could try this approach, keep it simple, clean room, bed on time, wash dishes/load dishwasher after dinner, no arguing, swearing, stropping, tantrums, use your manners, show respect ( delete as appropriate)

i know is not for everyone but at least then it would be in black and white ( or multi coloured if thats your thing!) why pocket money is given

hope it helps

[Russian Doll]

i give hannah a pound a week basic but then she has the option of earning more...we do however cap it

also we have abanking system so she can save for big things

[yvette]

Our son is now 13 but we have used the same system with him since he was about three. Every year on his birthday he gets a small rise in pocket money and is given a new job or responsibility. The way we put this to him is that we all share in the income and we all share in the responsibility for chores because that's what families do - the pocket money is not payment for chores, we just expect him to do his bit! We give him some choice over the chores he does. So far it's worked, although we have now entered the dangerous teenage years...! At age 9 he got 1.50, but we did also buy him a particular magazine he liked, so it worked out a bit more altogether.
Good luck!

[ElizabethBinary]

Hm... I'm all for the 'make 'em work for it'. A couple of nine year olds I know make pocket money by collecting and selling their own chook eggs. They did well with their little egg business too.

[Keaniebean]

I'm really tight when it comes to pocket money, I have three kids 10, 5 and 3 and I have to say none of them get anything in terms of pocket money. I used to let them have a 'treat' when they had done well at something, but it just ended up with lots of broken little toys which would end up in the bin or magazines which would have nothing read and they would be torn up so I stopped bothering.

I realize I'm probably in the minority with my children, they still go to bed at 7.30 and don't get any pocket money, they rarely have friends over, but they don't seem to suffer in the slightest. They all realise that money is tight and their presents are often hom made or even 'purchases' from freecycle or charity shops. They have come to understand to a degree about the value of money this way.

I think that if you are set on giving you child pocket money then Crowsashes has a good theory, keep it simple and set the grounrules first do they don't expect it.

Good Luck.

[Green Rosie]

My boys (6 and nearly 8) get 1€ a week pocket money. To "earn" this they must help lay and clear the table and do other small jobs as they turn up. Sometimes if they have been really helpful they get a bit extra but other times they can do the same extra job but not get anything so they don't come to expect it.

[Milims]

My 2 are 13 and 15 and I really do try to give them pocket money - honest I do - but I feel that they have to earn it! We have a list of jobs that have a set price for completion eg - hoovering the stairs, cleaning the bathroom etc but they just won't do it - therefore - no pocket money!

[Millymollymandy]

We used to work on the 10p a year theory at that age but I expect cost of living would deem that too stingy these days.

So you really mean per year Susie cos even I think that is stingy! I think I used to get thrupence or was it sixpence or so a week which is a lot more than 10p a year! Then I did other jobs on top like clean the house to earn extra money, and polish the silver and brass. That's a horrible job, who has silver these days anyway?

[Milims]

My 2 are 13 and 15 and I really do try to give them pocket money - honest I do - but I feel that they have to earn it! We have a list of jobs that have a set price for completion eg - hoovering the stairs, cleaning the bathroom etc but they just won't do it - therefore - no pocket money!

As they choose not to do any of these jobs presumably they fall to you? have you thought of turning it around and charging them for doing the jobs instead (I suspect they don't entirely go without the goodies pocket money usually buys) - my guess this would make them sit up a bit! When my son was 15 he refused to clean his room so they day before the bins were collected I put literally everything he owned (which was mainly on the floor) into bin bags, tied them up and left them on his bed with a note saying that if he didn't sort them out and put everything away they would be put outside the next day to be collected by the refuge (not very Ish I grant you!), it worked. I honestly think shock tactics need to be employed sometimes with teenagers because as you have found they mainly don't give a monkeys unless it affects them personally

oooo and I thought I was mean! Actually you have a point! I know my mother would throw what we left lying around out of the door into the back lane - maybe I have to toughen up!

[jampot]

When my son was 15 he refused to clean his room so they day before the bins were collected I put literally everything he owned (which was mainly on the floor) into bin bags, tied them up and left them on his bed with a note saying that if he didn't sort them out and put everything away they would be put outside the next day to be collected by the refuge

i did this with my (now)14 year old sis every time she went away on holiday with the family ( i stay behind to house sit/get some peace! ) as we shared a room till i moved out to uni this september and i could sometimes not get in my bed because of her stuff . it was amazing how much crap one kid would acumulate over a few months im so glad i dont need to do it anymore

[Silver Ether]

I think it depends on what you would like the child to do with it ... mine are grown now so cant really say much on amount.. but to get pocket money they should be good, tidy and respectful... if not no pocket money and stick to it. Personally I think all children should do stuff around the home suitable to their age .. and pocket money should not be a feature of this ... The money that was given to the kids by us and it would have only been a couple of quid ... was do do with as they wished ... I bought sweets etc to make sure I new what they were eating so their money was for them ... and both have a wonderful use of money as they learnt early that if they wanted that book/video they had to save for it. Their grandparents also gave them a pound a week and that was put straight in the money boxs for savings and again that set them on a really good road ...

A soon as they were old enough they both took to delivering free papers locally to boost their income ... another lesson learnt .. no job no money...

Oh don't fall into the trap of what others give their kids as some give their kids way to much out of guilt for not spending time with them... and no isher would be guilty of that.

[Chicken6]

My children do jobs and earn good pocket money.

My son is 9 he gets £4.50
My daughter is 6 she gets £3.00
and my soon to be 4 year old will get £2.00

They do jobs for this such as sweep floor, keep under the stairs tidy (shoe racks and school stuff is kept here), help fold washing keep bedrooms tidy. Doing the jobs really helps me keep ontop of the housework but the children don't really see the jobs as hard work they just do it and hardly ever have to be asked in fact they do more than I ask by offering to help with dinner,allotment and chickens.

The reason my Oh decided to start the pm at £2.00 is because the rip off magazines start at £1.99. My children are great savers and are happy to save for weeks and then buy a really good toy,books or crafty stuff. They really understand how lucky they are to get pocket money and know if they are naughty then money is deducted. My friends spend loads on comics and sweets etc on their children each weekend and I reckon they spend far more each weekend then we do by giving the children their PM.

[red]

i dont know how much I would pay but i would look at what they might spend that money on and set it accordingly.

I always worked on the principle that my son got his pocket money regardless of whether he was good or helped out etc. The point was to give him some money and to teach him to spend wisely, save etc.

I also expect him to help in the home, regardless of pocket money - but this applies to everyone - eg we have rule in the house, who ever doesn't cook dinner has to do the dishes.

On top of that there are extra jobs that we negotiate a fee for.. cutting the hedge, for example - its his choice, he can take it or leave it.

[clare]

Oh My god Chicken6 can I be on your pocket money list???Is this weekly???
I'm glad I just have 2 children I am begining to worry I can't afford them!
I have an 8 year old who gets no pocket money but I will buy her chocolate or the odd book from the charity shop or boot sale but we buy presents at christmas and birthdays,but she makes beaded bracelets to sell at fayres when I have my stall and she makes quite a few pounds per year(the last 2 years) and i find she spends it wisely as she knows the work it took to earn it.She also carries out chores such as laying the table,clearing the table,making her bed and tidying her room etc The little one is learning too,but I find the eldests friends who do get pocket money spend it on magazines or sweets and as my Daughter pointed out they have nothing to show for it she would rather save for something she can keep.