Kids complain they’re being hit in the pocket
NEW research reveals that schoolkids in the UK say they should be paid double the amount they currently receive in weekly pocket money. Basic household chores such as washing up and putting away the groceries are woefully underpaid and should command at least a 100 per cent rise, according to a poll of the nation’s minors conducted by financial comparison experts money.co.uk. The research reveals a gulf in what kids and their parents believe should be the going rate of pay for the jobs they do. Parents are currently paying their children an average of £6.48 pocket money per week, the survey shows. Just under half of parents said they believe they pay their kids the average amount of pocket money. But the kids don’t agree and want more. Unloading the dishwasher, cleaning the hamster’s cage and being well behaved were listed by parents as the most common tasks they have to pay for. Washing the car is the highest paid job, earning kids £2.51 on average. Salman Haqqi, personal finance expert at money.co.uk, said: “Two thirds of children receive pocket money for completing household tasks according to our research, but kids feel they are hugely underpaid for their domestic chores. In some respects, it seems that children may be asking for quite a lot – £4.12 to wash a car, when it costs about six pounds to get it done professionally, might seem like they’re stretching it a little.
“But in other respects, the children might have a point – the average cost of hiring a cleaner per hour in the UK is £12 – and a cleaner would rifle through the dish washing task in about 15 mins so would get paid about £4 for that job.
“With that perspective, getting the kids to do the washing up for £1.12 is cheap at around 25 per cent the going rate.
“Our Pocket Money Saving Tools helps parents and children identify which chores they can do to maximise their pocket money budget.
“Walking the dog, tidying the bedroom and putting away the groceries are the chores that are the least paid but are done the most often.”