Most parents settle on a range between £5 and £15 a week. Yep, that’s a big gap—like the difference between a bus pass and a bus pass plus a tub of Pringles. For a 12-year-old, £8 to £10 tends to hit the sweet spot. It’s enough to feel rich for an afternoon, but not enough to buy a drone.
But hold up. Context matters. Do you live in a city where a cinema ticket costs the same as a small car? Or a town where a penny sweet is still a penny? Adjust accordingly. And for crying out loud, ignore what the “cool” parents on Facebook claim. They’re lying; their kid gets lint.
Should you tie pocket money to chores?
Ah, the eternal debate. Here’s my hot take: yes, but loosely. Make the bed, unload the dishwasher, don’t leave your socks on the stairs—these are basic human duties, not paid gigs. If you pay for every dish, your kid will demand hazard pay for loading the fork drawer.
Instead, link bonus money to extra effort. Washing the car? That’s a fiver. Weeding the garden? Another fiver. Suddenly your twelve-year-old becomes a tiny, slightly incompetent entrepreneur. It teaches them that cash doesn’t grow on the kitchen counter (even though it totally does when you forget your wallet).
