Hi culverc!

The amount of pocket money that you decide to give your child each week or each month is entirely up to you but in all honesty I have not heard of an eight year old receiving regular high amounts of pocket money but I have heard of the occasional here is a couple of bucks to spend on a treat for fun moments more for that age. The idea of rewarding a child when they have completed a chore is highly recommended because it helps children to begin to learn a value for money. Personally I would not start an eight year old with more than 80 cents a week (10% of their age until they become a teenager plus bonuses) because before you know it you will be paying way to much pocket money in the early teenage years and an eight year old can not exactly go out by themselves and buy things anyway. If you wanted to give the odd extra dollar for cleaning the garage or picking up the leaves in the garden that is cool too but another idea is to say something like I can give you $2.50 a week but you can only spend $1 and the other $1.50 will go in to their new savings account and they can watch their account grow as they do.

For other tips on pocket money or allowance you could visit the link on the source below.

OK, call me old fashioned but I wouldn't "give" an eight year old any pocket money. What in the world does an eight year old need pocket money for? Kids that have disposable money at a very young age, often spend it on inappropriate items.

An allowance on the other hand, paid to a child for chores and kept by the parent for specific items is a great way to help a child to realize the value of a dollar. Say an eight year old wants to purchase some Bay Blades, that cost about $7, have them do some extra chores that in your mind are equal to $7. They will learn that it takes work to earn money and be proud of the accomplishment.

I also believe that a child should not be "paid" to help out around the house with every day chores such as taking out the trash and making their own bed. A family pitches in and works like a team.

As far as how much pocket money or allowance that you should give your eight year old child, I've heard experts say that you should pay them $1 per year per week. So, an eight year old would get eight dollars a week. Based on my own children's needs, I would say that would be a good amount to give them. When I was a child, I never had to do any chores in return for my allowance, although I know that I had friends who did have chores that they had to do.

An allowance is handy in that kids can save it and not have to constantly ask their parents for money at every moment or any time that they want something small like candy or a cd. However, eight dollars a week, or $32 a month is certainly not enough money for a child to pay for much more than these small items and you should expect to still give them money if they are going on an outing where they will need money. Giving kids an allowance will also teach them about the value of money and about saving a portion of one's income.