DS has just turned 5. He is obsessed with Lego and has a long prioritised list of all the Lego he would like. We don't buy toys other than at birthdays and Christmas, and grandparents don't buy toys for him outside these times either, so there is now a long wait before he has the opportunity for anything new.
He is also just starting to understand the concept of money. The other day he started a discussion about what you could buy for £100 - was surprised you couldn't buy an aeroplane or a house for that and surprised when I talked about how much our food cost.
Given these two things, DH and I were just discussing whether this might be an opportune moment to start teaching him the power of saving by giving him a small amount of pocket money to save. But at the same time, 5 seems a bit young for pocket money.
Any thoughts? When did you introduce pocket money (at a particular age, or when they started to understand money?)? Is it linked to chores (we like that in many ways, but also worry that he would then think every chore has a monetary value rather than being something that just needs to be done)? Or could we do an ad hoc, give him a few £s when he has done something particularly helpful type of thing rather than an expectation that there will always be money for chores.
We will probably do nothing, but just wondered if we should be seizing the moment. Interested in your thoughts/experiences.
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Pocket money for a 5 year old - thoughts?
18 replies
evertonmint · 20/04/2013 09:05
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