How much pocket money do YOU give your kid? Overpaying them for chores is actually DAMAGING them, expert warns

KIDS are cashing in with inflation-busting rates for doing household chores – sending their weekly earnings soaring. Cleaning the car and mowing the lawn are now highly lucrative. Doing chores around the home is a great way for kids to earn extra cash – but inflation means the cost is on the rise for parents Credit: supplied Mowing the lawn is a lucrative way for kids to earn extra cash from parents Credit: Getty Parents face forking out £3.52 on average for a spot of grass-cutting, while having the family motor washed will set them back £3.36. As UK inflation sits at 2.6 per cent, children’s “income” has rocketed 6.7 per cent just from pocket money and picking up odd jobs. Sign up for the Money newsletter Thank you! That means the average amount they get each week has risen from £9.13 to £9.74 — or £506.48 annually, according to research by kids’ banking app NatWest Rooster Money’s Pocket Money Index. JLS singer and Strictly star Aston Merrygold encourages sons Grayson, eight, and Macaulay, six, to learn about the value of money by having Rooster accounts. He told The Sun on Sunday: “Growing up, I had to earn my pocket money, whether washing the car or helping in the garden. “I want to give my kids that same grounding — understanding the value of money and what it means to work for it. It’s about setting them up with the right habits for later in life.” Average pocket money alone has only risen 2.3 per cent, from £3.85 a week to £3.94. With top-ups, the average six-year-old gets £4.58 and, by 17, youngsters are handed £23.56. Most read in Fabulous Some 30 per cent of kids complete chores as a condition of getting their pocket money. Window cleaning can earn them £1.65; washing up or filling the dishwasher is worth 54p; and cleaning their bedroom costs parents 81p. Making the bed only generates 28p. But walking the dog is the big cash winner, earning kids £1.15, while clearing up the pooch’s mess adds 72p. Money expert Martyn James said: “The point of pocket money is to teach children about the value of cash. But ­paying kids to do chores they should be doing for free — like tidying their room — only teaches them entitlement. “And indulgent parents pay a heavy price, ultimately, when their work-shy kids don’t leave home.” Natwest Rooster Money’s Pocket Money Index studied transactions from half a million kids aged six to 17 to find out how they get — and spend — their pocket money. They said studies suggest children who do regular chores are more confident, have improved social skills and do better at school. But many get cash for nothing, with the Tooth Fairy now leaving £4.79 per gnasher. Kids splurge the most cash at McDonald’s, followed by outlets including Playstation, Amazon, Shein, Apple and Xbox. BEST-PAID CHORES Mowing: £3.52 (down 16p on 2025) Clean the car: £3.36 (up 3p) Cleaning windows: £1.65 (up 11p) Gardening: £1.38 (down 28p) Dusting: £1.22 (up 11p) Dog Walking: £1.15 (up 11p) Cleaning bathroom: £1.12 (up 7p) Mopping: £1.08 (down 2p) Vacuuming: £1.03 (same as 2025) Polishing: 94p (up 8p) ADDITIONAL INCOME Tooth fairy: £4.79 (up 58p on 2025) Birthdays: £46.41 (up 97p) Comment now