Money Moral Dilemma: Should we increase our son's pocket money?

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  • barclaysbabe
    barclaysbabe Posts: 11 Forumite
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    If he is studying hard for his GCSE and doesn't have time to work a part time job, what does he want the increase in pocket money for? Cant have it both ways!
  • crmism
    crmism Posts: 300 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    It would help if you had said a). how old your son is, b). how much pocket money he's getting at the moment, and c). how much pocket money his friends are getting. Without such basic information, it's quite impossible to offer any ideas, so I'll assume that he doesn't have part-time employment weekdays/weekends.

    If he's old enough, then he could do what most other kids do and work a paper round, butcher's round, greengrocer's round. That's what I did when I was a youngster, and there's nothing wrong in being seen by his friends to work for his money. It will help him to learn its value, and that it doesn't fall off trees.

    Remember, pocket money has to be earned.
  • gingerdad
    gingerdad Posts: 1,919 Forumite
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    Part time job all the way and I say that as a parent of a year 11

    6 hours a week she gets £36.00 at 15 plus bonus if busy. It's teaching her great life skills will help when comes to building a career. And she can buy things she wants. Currently on for mostly a's / 8.


    And I really don't agree with paying for grades.
    The futures bright the future is Ginger
  • cheesetoast
    cheesetoast Posts: 258 Forumite
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    lisa110rry wrote: »
    My son got his first job at ten. Yes, ten. It was a weekly paper round of the free newspaper delivering in our village. I walked the round with him every week (and of course the round was in my name)
    So you took on the job, and subcontracted to your son. Did you declare it on your own self-assessment tax return? Did you give your son a chance to join a workplace pension scheme? Or was he acting as self-employed? If so, did HE fill in a tax return? ;)
  • WibblyGirly
    WibblyGirly Posts: 470 Forumite
    I'm going to come at this slightly differently, Lets assume he's at school 6 hours a day so 30 hours a week. Has 2 hours of homework/revision each night so hes already at a 40hours week. Then he gets a part time job which could be 6 or 8 hours on sat/sun. Do people think its acceptable that a 15/16 year old has a near 50 hour work weeks? Thats probably more than his parents do if they both work full time.
    I'm at uni, work part time and do volunteer work to gain relevant work exp and I struggle, I haven't had a day off for a month now and I'm knackered. I'm 27 though and can probably handle it better than a child can.
    I'd advise offering extra for jobs around the house and then once his GCSEs are done to get a part time job. I had one at college and my college hours were less than high school (Day off in the week and a half day off)
  • scrabbly
    scrabbly Posts: 35 Forumite
    I quite agree with previous post. If he has time to spend money - he has time to earn it !!!
    Nobody deserves something for nothing.
  • happyinflorida
    happyinflorida Posts: 807 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Stop being such tightwads and give your son extra pocket money, in fact, because you've been so tight for so long, you should give him 100% extra just for being so tight for so long and so mean.

    Why did you have children?! Glad you're not my rotten parents.
  • happyinflorida
    happyinflorida Posts: 807 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    gingerdad wrote: »
    Part time job all the way and I say that as a parent of a year 11

    6 hours a week she gets £36.00 at 15 plus bonus if busy. It's teaching her great life skills will help when comes to building a career. And she can buy things she wants. Currently on for mostly a's / 8.


    And I really don't agree with paying for grades.

    I really don't believe a word of this rubbish

    Down in the real world, a 15 year old wouldn't get a job because you have to be a minimum of 16 years old to get a job.

    Then when you hit 16 you would only be paid £2.50 per hour, not the ridiculous amount you're quoting.

    So shut up and just stick to the truth.
  • fabforty
    fabforty Posts: 809 Forumite
    It's impossible to answer this without knowing how much he gets and what it is supposed to cover, also how much you can afford. What his friends get is largely irrelevant if they have wealthy parents with a large disposable income and you are struggling to pay the bills.
  • gaving7095
    gaving7095 Posts: 168 Forumite
    Offering to pay him for his help with house & garden work I think is fair / best.
    If he gets a part time job he'll have to spend time & / or money travelling to it & probably be poorly-paid & treated like a skivvy anyway.
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