My teenage son wants to get a job,will i affect my tax credits and housing benefit?

HappyMJ

Sixer wrote: »

I give them £20 per week. I think that's quite a lot of money, personally! .

Exactly what I do here. It's the child benefit money set up by standing order since she turned 11 and could have a bank account with a VISA debit card. I transfer £10.15 twice per week. When I lose it she loses it. She also pays for her mobile costs out of that, all clothes, outings, food when out of the house, drinks etc. I pay for the same things as you the essentials only such as food on table, gas/elec/water/rent/council tax/tv.

Errata

At 14, they're old enough to choose their own out-of-school clothes. They're old enough to add up. They're old enough to make informed choices about their own leisure priorities. But knowing what they want is only half the story in the real world, isn't it? If they can decide what they want, they can equally decide what they want most/can afford. Should they choose a new pair of trainers? Or a trip to the cinema? Or a new game? So I get them to do that. They're also old enough to make a sandwich for lunch and old enough to know that if they are too lazy to perform this simple, five-minute chore, they'll have to buy their own canteen lunch.

Spot on, and exactly what working 14 year olds had to do a couple of generations ago !

Sixer

HappyMJ wrote: »

Exactly what I do here. It's the child benefit money set up by standing order since she turned 11 and could have a bank account with a VISA debit card. I transfer £10.15 twice per week. When I lose it she loses it. She also pays for her mobile costs out of that, all clothes, outings, food when out of the house, drinks etc. I pay for the same things as you the essentials only such as food on table, gas/elec/water/rent/council tax/tv.

I forgot mobile top-ups - mine pay for those too. It taught them a valuable lesson in finding the right PAYG package.

JC9297

Sixer wrote: »

I give them £20 per week. I think that's quite a lot of money, personally!

I don't think it is considering what they are expected to pay for.

Sixer

JC9297 wrote: »

I don't think it is considering what they are expected to pay for.

My husband also thinks it's on the tight side!

I think the amount of money is always going to depend on household resources and an individual parent's view of what is reasonable. That's the same for everything. How much is reasonable for anything? Everybody's view on this will be different as their views on how much to pay for a holiday, or for a meal out, or for anything at all, will depend on a combination of household resources and personal view.

But would you argue with the principle? Because that's the important thing here.

I look at some of my children's friends and I see kids who will go off to university with absolutely no idea of how to manage money or fend for themselves in other ways. And it makes me think I'm doing the right thing, whether or not £10, £15, £25 or £50 is the amount of money I hand over.

SpendlessKaren

My personal opinion is I think it is absolutely dreadful that your kids at such a young age are expected to pay so much out of £20 per week.
I assume you do the same then ? You buy all your clothes, you pay for your entertainment and phone etc on £20 per week ?
Kids should be kids, yes they should understand the value of money but I think what you expect from yours is not practical and I feel sorry for them that

Sixer

SpendlessKaren wrote: »

My personal opinion is I think it is absolutely dreadful that your kids at such a young age are expected to pay so much out of £20 per week.
I assume you do the same then ? You buy all your clothes, you pay for your entertainment and phone etc on £20 per week ?
Kids should be kids, yes they should understand the value of money but I think what you expect from yours is not practical and I feel sorry for them that

Such a young age?! Seriously? You are joking? One is fourteen. One is sixteen. They are adolescents, not babies in nappies!

They DON'T pay for all their clothes on £20 per week. They pay for their leisure clothes - I buy school uniform, PE kit, and shoes, as I noted above.

They DON'T pay for all their own "phone etc". I pay for a household internet connection and a landline. I provided them with a mobile phone for when they are out on their own and may need a contact utility. They pay for non-essential communications (ie top ups to text their mates).

They DON'T pay for all their entertainment. Family meals out and outings are paid for by me. Holidays are paid for by me. A Sky subscription is paid for by me. A Spotify subscription is paid for by me.

They are given an allowance to contribute a reasonable amount for their own independent leisure purchases and activities. Every single NEED they have is met by me, because they are not yet independent adults. Every single WANT they have is NOT met entirely by me. I make a contribution towards those WANTS (not NEEDS) and they are given the responsibility of deciding which they want most and whether or not they are prepared to do some work to get more of them.

I genuinely think it's shocking that parents are letting adolescents morph into adults without ever teaching them how to handle money, budget, make serious choices about wanting and having, or to consider the wider family resources in relation to them as an individual.

MissMoneypenny

Macro wrote: »

I agree, but I would suggest to him that I wouldn't ask for any board so long as he maintains his grades and contributes 20% of his net pay towards his university savings. But maybe I'm just mean

I had my children putting money by for university from the first time they ever received pocket money. I can still see them now, as tiny tots, sorting their pocket money out into their 'university savings', 'other' savings and 'spend this week' money boxes.

I saw it as a parents job to teach their children how to handle money. Who else is going to prepare them for finances in life?

dseventy

Going back to the OPs question :

jjuicyllucy wrote: »

I am all for my son getting a job (hooray) but am worried that my loss is going to be bigger than his gain.

lucy, don't just look at this from the financial angle.

Having a job at his eage in education will teach him :

How to save
How budget
To get himself to and from work.
Being responsible for his board.
How to waste money
Become independant

etc etc.

If you hold him back on a simple "maths" formula you are doing him a great injustice IMO.

D70

AnxiousMum

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

I had my children putting money by for university from the first time they ever received pocket money. I can still see them now, as tiny tots, sorting their pocket money out into their 'university savings', 'other' savings and 'spend this week' money boxes.

I saw it as a parents job to teach their children how to handle money. Who else is going to prepare them for finances in life?[/QUOTE]
Isn't that another parental duty that is being passed onto schools to do now? Beggars belief!