On the subject of pocket money...as they get older....
We have 4 children aged between 16 and 24, and have done the pocket money thing with all.
Basically we felt that if we linked the pocket money with chores, it meant that the doing of chores was something extra.
We wanted the children to know that we all have jobs to do to keep the family going, and the older you get, the more you can contribute e.g. in our home at age 11 you begin doing your own ironing and cook one family meal each week etc.
(this wasn't met with glee I might add!)
We also felt that when our children got part time jobs (which they were encouraged to do at about 15) they might say, 'Actually I don't need that pocket money so I won't be doing those chores any more!'
We wanted the pocket money to be unconditional, so it could never be taken away. Their pocket money was not huge, increasing to only about $10 a week by the age of 14.
Sometimes the pocket money did not stretch far enough. When the time came to buy a sibling a small Birthday or Christmas present (which we strongly encouraged) they could then say "Mum, I need some extra money, what can I do?"
Extra chores like buckets of weeds for $2,or washing windows for $10, were then possible. (While Mum is clicking her heels!!)
When they each got a part time job we usually let the pocket money continue for at least a few years after this.
Our daughter went on a School trip to China at the age of 15 which she saved for herself by working at the beach Kiosk! We happily provided the spending money!
They also all have had a Clothing Allowance from the start of Year 9, $50 a month (it hasn't gone up in 10 years and no-one has noticed so far!) This came into being due to the brand consciousness of our oldest child.
They need this Clothing Allowance to cover all of their casual clothes and shoes (and they needed to shop at Sales!!). Unfortunately, sometimes they let it build up and asked for "$150 to go shopping this afternoon" !
We still paid for School and Sport clothing and they got lots of socks, undies, and pj's for their Birthdays and Christmas.To this day no-one has ever spent a cent of clothing allowance on any of these items!!
As far as saving money was concerned, we encouraged them all to save (some are better at this than others!), but never forced them to leave a certain amount of money in the bank. If they wanted to take it all out and buy a big Lego set or take a trip to Queensland (one did this at 18 with his girlfriend) they could. That way hopefully they could get into the habit of having a goal and working towards it, and seeing then that if they did spend it all, it was gone!! Hopefully with regret at times!
We currently have only our 3 sons at home,(our daughter is 22 and moved out a few months ago), an 18 year old first year Fitter and Turner apprentice (who earns about $7.00 an hour) who pays $50 a week Board and does his own washing etc He has had to (save up to) buy and run a car on this so it is fairly tight. He has his regular chores and has moved to the point where he is meant to notice things that need doing (e.g. bringing the bins in) and this works spasmodically!
We continue to pay for his Sport fees and sport clothing as this is something we want to encourage. We still help out with his car expenses from time to time (especially things like new tyres being needed).
We have a 16 year old son (in Year 11) who earns $80 a week working hard for 5 hours on a Saturday morning at a Recycling Centre. At the moment he still gets the $50 monthly clothing allowance and the $10 weekly pocket money. This will probably continue through next year. He has regular chores and actually has moved naturally into the noticing things needing doing stage in the last few months! (Yeah!!) (or off to the Doctor?)
We have a 24 year old son who has temporarily moved back home until he sets off on his first overseas trip. He is paying $80 a week board and helps out in the home (a bit!). He cooks for us and does his own washing etc. but I think he is already in holiday mode! He has saved enough working for the past 2 years since Uni to stay away for about a year.
When he was just 5 years old he said " Actually, Mum, I want to take all my money out of the bank, turn it into notes, see what it looks like, and then put it back in!" I could tell then that he was a saver!
Teresa Golin
Tiptoe Educational Products
www.tiptoeep.com.au