Do you take keep from your children (working)

whatatwit

My DD gives me £20 per week, although as her hours are going to be fluctuating, then I think we will move to a %.
She does buy quite a bit of food herself though and pays for her own lunches.

I pay for her phone as a rolling birthday present as I never know what to get her.

On the plus side, she does save at least half of her wages each week.

Cherry_Bomb

Mine charged me £20 a week and I used to moan about that!
I'm now paying nearly £200 a week. I keep asking them to take me back but they are having none of it.

Selfish

silvercar

I would say it depends how much the parents NEED.

If the parents need the money to balance their own budgets then it is right that the children contribute, particularly if the parents have lost CB or CTC ( though they have had 18 years notice of this!).

Having children living at home increase expenditure be it food, electric, phone so some may think it is right that at least the children cover the extra costs.

On the other hand, some parents won't need a contribution from the children and would feel it wrong to profit from their own children.

lollipopsarah

yep poor son (28) is still at home and gives £110 a month as he doesn't work full time.
He would love to have a place of his own but just can't afford it.
Bless him he started giving us the extra £10 when things got tough, (and still is) but I wouldn't dream of asking for more as he is so considerate (won't put the heating on just for himself etc).
To thing that nearly 30 years ago when I used to go home for a weekend visit I used to leave £10.
Time do change, but it's vital that your kids learn the value of money.
The real world is one hell of a shock.
xx

CrazyRed

My daughter's on an apprenticeship scheme, so only brings in around £95 a week. I didn't consider it appropriate for her to pay "keep" for being here (after all, how much does a couple of extra spuds in the teatime pot really cost? Same with an extra lightbulb being on, and extra laptop being plugged in and a shower a day? C'mon, parents, be realistic) but I did say to her that any clothes, makeup, soaps, deodorants, shoes, travel to/from work and lifts to her boyfriends were to be for her account. Once she had completed the apprenticeship and was earning better money, then my expectation would be for around 10-15% of her gross wages as 'keep' - in her case this would be likely to be around £20-30 a week.
(No, I don't get any benefits for her, either - I didn't think I could once she turned 16. Even if we could (I do for the other two) I probably wouldn't bother because I really have had more than enough of filling in endless forms and jumping through hoops for the sake of a few quid - I've just spent 13 months doing that for another matter and that's proved very tough. As soon as she did turn 16 her mother kicked her out and moved 200 miles away, so her arrival was somewhat sudden and quite unexpected, but we are where we are)

mammyof7

My eldest (17) is at sixth form at the minute but (fingers crossed) will hopefully be starting an apprenticeship in September. This means he will work full time but will only be on low money.

Obviously our tax credits and child benefit for him will stop but we've already decided that we wont take any money off him. However he has been told that we also wont pay for any clothes/ nights out/ concerts etc.

When he starts earning more money we will then talk about him contributing.

Kimberley

My daughter is on IS whilst she is pregnant and will be going to Uni in September. I won't take nothing from her whilst she is on IS because she will have a child to support but will when she starts Uni and gets her grants. She will however get her own food from her IS.

My son when he leaves college in September will pay me £50 a week from his JSA until he gets a job and then i'll decide depending on his income. The reason I will take most of his JSA is so that he has a reason to get a job with having no money himself. If you take little from their JSA then they won't be in a hurry to find a job.

bluenoseam

I'm not going to be judgemental, but some of the comments here make me feel uneasy - for example suggesting that as soon as child benefit stops they gotta pay their way, taking the majority of JSA off them!

I don't pay keep as such, but i do contribute to the house in various ways including shopping every so often, i never ask for a penny and haven't done since i was 16 & have helped Mum out financially a LOT over the years, the truth is she doesn't look for keep only that if i'm asked to do something i'll do it and well, given the situation she probably feels it would be somewhat uncalled for! Doesn't make me any less independant, i understand the value of money probably better than she does and am sensible enough to be able to survive on my own, it's just that well, i enjoy being with my family. Do any of the parents who do take several hundred pounds a month off their children consider that such action will be reducing their capability to move out in the immediate future or is it a case of "well, if they want to move out then they can save the remainder of their wage"?

Darren_G

My eldest is in her last year of school, and although she will be going into sixth form, I have told her that as a young adult, she will be expected to contribute to her keep from any money she makes part time. This is not to be nasty or tight, but so that she gets accustomed to the fact that take home earnings and available spends are not the same thing!

In reality, any money she hands over will most likely be set aside and given back to her at some stage, but the life lesson of knowing how to offset living costs and budget accordingly will be priceless for if/when she goes on to uni or eventually flies the nest.

I paid my mum around a third of my take home pay as 'board money' and also helped out with any unexpected expenses (eg bought her a new fridge and iron when they packed up) whilst still doing my share of the household chores.

McKneff

silvercar wrote: »

I would say it depends how much the parents NEED.

If the parents need the money to balance their own budgets then it is right that the children contribute, particularly if the parents have lost CB or CTC ( though they have had 18 years notice of this!).

Having children living at home increase expenditure be it food, electric, phone so some may think it is right that at least the children cover the extra costs.

On the other hand, some parents won't need a contribution from the children and would feel it wrong to profit from their own children.

Its not a case of 'need' or 'making a profit' its a case of teaching your child how to budget, how to pay their own way, all sorts of reasons really. It also teaches them not to take, take, take without a thought for anything else. And the transition is easier for them when the time comes for them to move out.