Should You Give Your Children Pocket Money?

There are so many questions that are vital to consider when raising your kids, especially when it comes to skills they will develop for the future. When it comes to pocket money, the question of whether to provide your kids with it or just get them whatever they need isn’t easy. So, to help you make a decision on whether or not you should give your children pocket money, here are a few things to consider:

 

Understanding the Value of money

One of the main advantages of providing your children with pocket money is for them to understand the value of money. When they are given a fixed allowance every week or month, they will be able to understand what this money can buy. This will not only help them appreciate their items more, but also increase their awareness to how the world works and prepare them for the future.

 

Saving up

Once your child is aware of how pocket money works, they will start to make plans to be able to buy the things they want. Let’s say they want to buy a new toy or a tablet, they will start calculating how much they need to save up from each month’s pocket money to be able to afford the item in question. This will teach them skills that will help them throughout their entire life and hopefully prevent them from falling into debt.

 

Budgeting and Planning

One of the most important life skills that a child can gain out of getting pocket money is being able to plan for the month. They’ll be forced to make calculated decisions, make compromises, or bear the consequences of not having enough money for the rest of the month.

 

Once they’ve gone through these experiences, your children will  become better planners and understand that money doesn’t grow on trees. However, it is essential for parents to stick their grounds and not provide their child with extra cash once their pocket money runs out.

 

Sense of achievement

It’s a completely different feeling when your child is handed something they want easily, or if they feel they worked hard for it and managed to buy it out of their own pockets. This sense of achievement will make them appreciate the item a whole lot more as well as have a high sense of achievement and success.

 

Awareness and appreciation

When a child has their own pocket money, and starts to really understand the value of money, they will start to be aware of everything around them. They will start to have a sense of curiousity in terms of daily expenses and start to realize how much trouble you go through to be able to spend on daily basics. And if you decide to get them anything extra as a gift, they will appreciate it even more.

 

Points to consider:

 

Jealousy and Comparing to others

However, while it does instill many great values, there are a few negative aspects to consider. Deciding how much money to give your child as pocket money isn’t an easy task with inflation on the rise in Egypt, the value of money is decreasing on a regular basis, and the social pressure at schools. That makes it difficult to give your child a sum that can help them achieve their goals or buy the things they want, without it being completely out of budget.

 

Another aspect to consider is giving your children a tool to be able to compare with other kids. Knowing how much allowance their friends receive could really backfire and make them feel ungrateful if they feel it is too little in comparison. With Egyptian kids, pocket money can be used as a tool to brag about their status and really harm your child’s self confidence.

 

Reducing the amount of control over your kids

When a child saves up money, they will have a source of income to be able to buy whatever they like. As a child gets older, they will start to have the flexibility of going out on their own and using their pocket money for personal use. So, how do you ensure that they won’t use that money to buy harmful items such as cigarettes or drugs?

 

One of the reasons providing your child with money whenever they need it instead of giving them an allowance is being up to date with why they need the money and what they’re spending on. Having that authority will give you the chance to monitor your child’s behaviour and always ensure you’re keeping them on the right track.

 

Further reading:

• My Daughter Told Me She Hated God
• My 6-Year-Old Child Is a Sexual Harasser
• Play Areas Conversations: “I Can’t Play With You Because Your English Is Bad”

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