Our Son will be 5 next March and we are going to give him some 'pocket money' so that he can become aware of

Question

budgeting for his comics etc. What would be an acceptable amount to give him?

Answer 1

Id give him £1 and make up a list of jobs with prices that he could do to make money up e.g pick up toys 20p make bed 10p ect thats what i do .He now knows if he doesnt work for it he,s going to be skint!! Now if theres a toy car or something he wants he asks me if theres any other jobs he could do for me to get enough money for it quite sweet .

Answer 2

$5

Answer 3

Well, how often do you buy him candy, comics, and little "impulse-buy" type toys? Can you figure out a monthly cost for those things that you buy already? If it's like $10 per month, then maybe a dollar a week would be good to start out with. That way when you go to the store and you're in line waiting to check out and he wants M&M's you can allow him to bring his money along and pay for them himself. Same when you go to the toy store to shop for a present for someone, if he wants new matchbox cars or has actually saved enough to buy a new Thomas engine, he can put his money towards some or all of it.

Answer 4

I have a 4 1/2 year old little boy, and I give him £2 (around $4) a week. He gets £1 to put in his piggy bank to save for "big" toys, right now he's saving for what he really wants, a V-smile gaming system (an educational version of "grown-up" consoles) and the other £1 I give him in change, talking about the value of each one, to spend as he likes. We occasionally get his piggy bank out to count what he's saved and exchange the £ coins for £5 and £10 notes so to help learn the value of the larger denominations.

Answer 5

i think £1 per week would be a good start for a 5 year old. Will you be asking him to do chores for it? I'd suggest for whatever you decide is the right amount that you give it to him in half. 2 x 50ps for example, would teach him that he could spend one and save the other for something bigger. I applaude you for teaching your child the value of money, it's definately a lesson worth learning as a child. Congrats!

Answer 6

You should not just give money he should be taught the work ethic at the same time as being taught how to budget. Make a sensible price per job and when he completes the task properly to your satisfaction he can be paid. This way the more he does the more he earns and you of course get some cheap labour around the house!!

Answer 7

It depends what you expect him to buy. Will he have to buy all his own sweets and comics? Or will you provide them and he just has extra for when he wants something special.

At 5 I would have thought you are providing everythig so a small amount, 50p should be enough. He can earn extra by helping around the house - simple things like putting his clothes in the wash basket or getting himself ready for school.

Answer 8

I would say around a pound, in coins. If he learns to associate the weight of money with value, it may make a better impression on him than paper money, which may be a bit too symbolic for a little one. That's how my parents started out with me. The lessons stuck, I might add. My da said before he died that he had no worries about me managing.
--That Cheeky (but not wealthy) lad.

Answer 9

We paid our kids in dollars the amount of years they are in school. So in kindergarten and before, we gave them 50 cents a week. In first grade, they got a dollar a week, etc.

The advantage is that once they got to 4th grade or so, we quit buying them about any toys. Most things that they want (except for big stuff of course) they have to save up their money to get it. There is a lot less begging in stores, and they are learning how to save. My youngest son is in the 8th grade, and he has accumulated over $100 now as he is saving for a Wii.

The disadvantage, of course, is that they get more regular raises than I do! LOL!

Answer 10

We have 4 kids of various ages (8 to 15) and give each of them £1 per month for each year of their age - so the 8 year old gets £8 per month and the 15 year old gets £15 per month.

This seems fair as their needs increase as they get older and it maintains a differential between how much each one gets - if we gave them all £10 each per month then the older ones would feel they deserved more than the little ones.