Over the weekend, Miss Chatterbox (just turned 3) first heard about pocket money. It started with an ice-cream truck passing by our house. (This is something we were unaccustomed to in our old neighbourhood).
Miss Chatterbox observed two young boys run over to the truck and return with coveted ice-creams in hand. Of course, Miss Chatterbox decided that she and her brother should have ice-creams.
Declining her request, I said, mindlessly; "Maybe those boys used their pocket money."
"Do I have money in my pocket?"
"No. Pocket money is when mummies and daddies give big kids money. They save up their money to buy something they like".
"Can I buy something I like?"
"When you have pocket money, you can't buy something straight away. You keep your money in a safe place until you have enough to buy what you like".
Miss Chatterbox seemed happy with this explanation and didn't actually ask to have pocket money. The whole exchange probably got me thinking more than her.
Miss Chatterbox, of course, has no concept of money, other than understanding that you give money to people at shops. Although she can count to 20, I'm pretty sure she has no concept of one number being larger or smaller than another. She cannot add or subtract. She would not understand how much money is required for various purchases.
But, does this mean she is not ready for pocket money? Does she have to understand the value of money before being taught how to use it? Or is she able to learn about value as we go along?
I have thought a little about pocket money/ teaching financial literacy to our kids in the past. Here is what I have thought:
- I like the idea of a pre-determined amount of pocket money, rather than giving kids money as they "need" it.
- We want to start early with teaching our kids to give a percentage of their money to God (to church or another ministry organisation)
- By the time our kids are teenagers, I want them to learn to use their pocket money (rather than extra money from our pockets) to cover any of their own entertainment expenses e.g. outings, excursions, eating out with friends, the dreaded mobile phone...
- We need to let our kids make their own decisions and their own mistakes with their pocket money (e.g. allow them to spend their money on a trashy toy that breaks easily). This will allow them to learn lessons from experience about wise and unwise uses of their money.
- We need to let our kids deal with the consequences of spending their money unwisely (e.g. having to miss out on an outing with friends if they have spent their money on something else, rather than bailing them out).
- We don't want to give pocket money specifically in exchange for household chores. We would like to teach that chores are just something you do when you are part of the family, not in exchange for money.
But all of these thoughts are really for much older children. I never thought I'd be thinking about pocket money so soon!
I'd love some advice from those with older children (or those who have just thought about it!)
Do you give pocket money?
What age did you start?
How much pocket money is appropriate for a preschooler (if any)?
How do your kids use their pocket money?
