Pocket money.
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My DC 11, 12 receive £20 per month. I provide a packed lunch as school lunch on top of travel is too expensive. DC don't seem to go out much and DD spends nearly all of her money on books (for some reason she likes to buy them rather than borrow them). DS spends most of his money on games for his DS.
In return I expect them to help me with the light housework (putting away clothes, emptying dishwasher, watering plants, etc). We have a tick chart. 40 ticks have to be completed in order to receive their £20. However, if they have been genuinely busy (galas, drama, orchestra, etc) I am more lenient. I put a cross in bedroom if it is messy for several days in a row. 1 cross is equal to two ticks.
In the summer they get an extra £5 as they have to do the exam papers I write, then help with the marking and bake for the 11+ club.
In return I expect them to help me with the light housework (putting away clothes, emptying dishwasher, watering plants, etc). We have a tick chart. 40 ticks have to be completed in order to receive their £20. However, if they have been genuinely busy (galas, drama, orchestra, etc) I am more lenient. I put a cross in bedroom if it is messy for several days in a row. 1 cross is equal to two ticks.
In the summer they get an extra £5 as they have to do the exam papers I write, then help with the marking and bake for the 11+ club.
Ihave two daughters 11 and 15 grandma gives them £5 each a week and the older one also has a paper round fortnightly that earns her £16. I expect the older one to also pay for her own topups on phone I top up extra if she is away on school trips. Some of her friends have contract phones and this causes major discussions.... I honestly do not want to be paying £35 + for a contract phone as some of her friends have. I just think it is a waste of money and when you have more than one child to finance it is a lot of money out of my monthly wages. We pay for lunches/transport etc and extra pocket money for school trips etc.
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T.i.p.s.y
Thanks to everyone who has posted I think I have some pocket money plans for my DC. The problem I am faced with is as they have never had it DC1 will get annoyed that DC2 got pm 2 years earlier than he did. If DC1 gets more than DC2 then war will break out! 
Currently they have such similar lives so there is no real need to give one extra so I thought when DS1 goes to senior school at 13 his allowance could jump. He'll still remember that DS2 got pm 2 years before him though! 
Any advice?
Currently they have such similar lives so there is no real need to give one extra so I thought when DS1 goes to senior school at 13 his allowance could jump. He'll still remember that DS2 got pm 2 years before him though! Any advice?Personally I would have to say 'cest la vie' - tough I know, but life is harsh and unfair anyway. In our household if you made it up with an extra present or 2yrs worth of pocket money there would be uproar. I would say it is a new thing that starts from today....how exciting!!! getting money etc...!!! Good luck
I totally agree with Suncrest. As parents we sometimes feel the need to apologise to our children for things which - to be honest - are decisions we make based on stuff we should not always have to explain! (Grief, that's a bit long winded!)
What I mean is that we should not always feel the need to explain and apologise for every decision we make. Although I do concede that we cannot treat them as small children when they reach a certain age.
I've still not decided what to do about pocket money either, but I shall also be starting both children at the same time. If Ed doesn't like it that is unfortunate!
What I mean is that we should not always feel the need to explain and apologise for every decision we make. Although I do concede that we cannot treat them as small children when they reach a certain age.
I've still not decided what to do about pocket money either, but I shall also be starting both children at the same time. If Ed doesn't like it that is unfortunate!
We pondered the pocket money thing for some time and came up with a solution that does work for us. DS (11yrs) gets £5 and DD(8) gets £3.30 (dont ask!! but suffice to say she is a good negotiator ) We don't hand it to them in cash but they write it in their own little book - like their own bank account. It is a small amount of money compared to many of their friends i have found out but they do not have to buy clothes or comics or books or trainers - but it does encourage them to save which they never did when we would give them a few pounds at the weekend. It soon mounts up as this weekend DS bought himself a docking station for his I pod (which he also bought from saved pocket money and Christmas money) It is also easier on us as we don't have to scrabble around for £8.30 each week in cash!
) We don't hand it to them in cash but they write it in their own little book - like their own bank account. It is a small amount of money compared to many of their friends i have found out but they do not have to buy clothes or comics or books or trainers - but it does encourage them to save which they never did when we would give them a few pounds at the weekend. It soon mounts up as this weekend DS bought himself a docking station for his I pod (which he also bought from saved pocket money and Christmas money) It is also easier on us as we don't have to scrabble around for £8.30 each week in cash!It seems to be different/harder if you have same sex siblings who are close in age.
For years you are encouraging them to play together, be friends together, get on in the holidays and are treating them almost the same and then you suddenly decide one is old enough to have a phone or pocket money or something else momentous in their little lives and the other can't (my vast experience is gathered from friends many of whom seem to have either all boys or all girls).
Having one of each, close in age is easier in many ways. You can treat them slightly differently and get away with it - the bedtime for the older has always been later than the younger, the older gets a mobile phone and the younger waits or gets a real old cast off for the time being - I can always compare him or her to a friend rather than their sibling because brothers and sisters are very different (how clever am I
).
We haven't 'done' pocket money yet although have spoken about it and the older will get an amount because he now needs more grown up things and the younger will get a smaller amount and will get the larger amount as soon as she is the same age and has the same needs.
So, TIPS my answer for your predicament is 'I don't know' - on the one hand it suits you to treat them almost the same for a lot of the time on the other hand you do have to separate them out from time to time - I think those with same sex siblings close in age might have a good answer.
Happy hols
Ambridge x
For years you are encouraging them to play together, be friends together, get on in the holidays and are treating them almost the same and then you suddenly decide one is old enough to have a phone or pocket money or something else momentous in their little lives and the other can't (my vast experience
is gathered from friends many of whom seem to have either all boys or all girls).Having one of each, close in age is easier in many ways. You can treat them slightly differently and get away with it - the bedtime for the older has always been later than the younger, the older gets a mobile phone and the younger waits or gets a real old cast off for the time being - I can always compare him or her to a friend rather than their sibling because brothers and sisters are very different (how clever am I
).We haven't 'done' pocket money yet although have spoken about it and the older will get an amount because he now needs more grown up things and the younger will get a smaller amount and will get the larger amount as soon as she is the same age and has the same needs.
So, TIPS my answer for your predicament is 'I don't know' - on the one hand it suits you to treat them almost the same for a lot of the time on the other hand you do have to separate them out from time to time - I think those with same sex siblings close in age might have a good answer.
Happy hols
Ambridge x
