The case for just giving it
Pocket money that arrives regardless is a budgeting exercise, not a wage. The child learns to handle an income and make choices with it. Nobody has to negotiate, nobody has to inspect the washing-up, and the money never becomes a tool for controlling behaviour.
There is also a fairness argument. Tidying your own room and carrying your own plate to the sink are not jobs — they are the cost of living in a house with other people. Paying for them suggests that contributing to your own household is optional unless there is money in it.
The case for earning it
Money that appears from nowhere teaches that money appears from nowhere. Earning it builds the link between effort and reward, and that link is the foundation of every later financial decision. Children who have swept a driveway for £3 tend to think differently about spending £3.
The split that works
Most families who are happy with their arrangement have landed somewhere in the middle, usually something like this:
Base plus extra
- A base amount that always arrives. Not linked to anything. This is the money they learn to budget with, and it does not disappear because of a bad week.
- Household jobs that are simply expected. Your own room, your own plate, your own laundry basket. Unpaid, because they are not favours.
- Extra jobs available for extra money. A published list with published prices. Optional. This is where earning gets learned.
The published list matters more than it sounds. If the price is agreed in advance and written somewhere, you have removed the negotiation, the disappointment and the "but you said" — all at once.
Which jobs suit which age
| Age | Usually expected, unpaid | Reasonable paid extras |
|---|---|---|
| 4–6 | Put toys away, carry plate to sink, feed a pet with help | Match and pair socks, water plants |
| 7–9 | Make own bed, tidy own room, set and clear the table | Sweep a floor, wash the car with help, sort recycling |
| 10–12 | Own laundry to the basket, own bag packed, load or empty dishwasher | Hoover a room properly, weed a bed, wash the car alone, walk a dog |
| 13–15 | Own washing through the machine, cook one simple meal a week | Clean the bathroom, mow a lawn, babysit a younger sibling for short stretches |
| 16+ | Broadly self-sufficient at home | Larger household projects — and increasingly, actual paid work outside the home |
Setting a price that is not silly
Price the job, not the hour. "£2 for the car" is clear; "£4 an hour" invites a slow car wash. Pick amounts that mean something relative to the base pocket money — if the weekly base is £6, then a £3 job is worth doing and a 20p job is an insult.
Two things to avoid
Do not use pocket money as a fine. Docking money for bad behaviour turns the household's discipline system and its financial education system into the same thing, and the financial education loses.
Do not pay for schoolwork. Paying for grades reliably reduces interest in the subject itself — and it is a hard payment to ever stop making.
When they would rather not bother
A child who shrugs at the job list and accepts less money has not broken the system. They have made a trade — less money for more free time — which is a decision adults make constantly. Let it stand. The lesson arrives on its own, usually about a fortnight later when they want something.
Questions people ask
- Should children be paid for chores?
- There is a reasonable case either way. A common compromise is a small base amount that always arrives, a set of household jobs that are simply expected and unpaid, and a published list of extra jobs available for extra money.
- What chores should a 10 year old do?
- Around ten, most children can manage their own laundry basket, load or empty a dishwasher, and keep their own room tidy as standard. Paid extras at that age might include hoovering a room properly, weeding, or washing a car.
- Should you take pocket money away as a punishment?
- It usually backfires. Docking money merges your discipline system with your financial education, and the financial education tends to lose. Keeping the base amount unconditional makes it a more reliable teaching tool.