Parents tend to agree that giving younger children pocket money, and older children an allowance, helped them to understand how to use money properly.
- Children get a great sense of achievement from saving for something.
- Learning to count the money, keeping it safe and spending it in shops is all useful practice for children – and it means more if it is their own.
- If children experience the satisfaction of being in control of their own money they are inclined to want more of it. They have “tasted” the independence that having their own money gives them. This means they are more willing to do paid jobs around the house; and, when they are older to look for part-time jobs outside of the home.
- Giving pocket money helps children develop an understanding and respect for the money that is earned by the parents; and, in some families parents think this has translated into children taking better care of things in the home. They seem more likely to develop an understanding that there is not an unlimited supply of money to replace scratched DVDs.
- With younger children, pocket money can be a useful tool to restrict how many sweets a child eats, and also to avoid a scene in shops when a child demands to be bought something.
Childhood is a great time to develop the saving habit because children have so few demands on their cash – no heating, car insurance or supermarket bills to pay!
“You can also find some really useful tips for new parents here.”
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