Pocket Money / Riding Shotgun

dahamsta

Pardon my ignorance but what, if anything, do people give their kids for pocket money? I've changed my mind several times because I hadn't a routine with the youngfella, but we're settling down now.

Also, what age should a kid be before they ride shotgun? I seem to remember it being a certain age and/or height but I can't find mention of it with a (cursory search of the web.

Ta,
adam

Karoma

age thing: if memory serves me well (and it rarely does): 14.. have a look in your Rules of The Road handbook ?:p

dahamsta

Rules of the Road don't really specify an age, and I don't think the law does either. Out of interest, what age do parents here let their kids sit in the front?

I'd be interested in people's opinions on mobile phones for kids too. Personally I dislike the idea of young children having mobiles, but it does seem to be pretty common these days, and I've heard that a lot of separated fathers give them to their kids to keep in touch during the week.

adam

Kernel32

I'm not sure of the rules as such but I have heard 12 or 13years old due to concerns over a childs size in relation to airbags and other stuff. Here is a link aout it...
Kids back seat

Stark

I used to get about £2 (make it €4 these days I'd say) a week pocket money and if I wanted to buy anything substantial like clothes/cinema ticket etc. my parents would buy those for me. Worked out okay, taught me the value of money (totally wasted now that I'm working ) and made sure I didn't buy too many sweets.

As for the seat, I think it's about 12/13 for an average size child. The important thing is that the front seat isn't pushed too close to the dashboard or they'll run a risk of being crushed when the airbag explodes (apparently they cause more injuries than they prevent :rolleyes:).

delos

I tend to buy my oldest - 13 - major items (clothes and the like) and get him to do a few jobs about the place for some extra cash. This also keeps him occupied and away from the PS2. He flat refuses to do any gardening - the only flaw in the scheme! Having said that, I doubt that I'd see him stuck if he wanted to go to the pictures with his pals.

One thing that tends to be overlooked on the 'shotgun' issue is that it is easier to keep them entertained in the front if you are on your own with them. This is a safety issue in itself as you have much less of a distraction. I'd say if the seatbelt fits them without a booster seat and there is no airbag you should be fine. If there is an air bag push the seat back.

Jim

Cathode_Ray

Im not a parent myself , But when I was younger my father gave me money to work in his shop , that was when I was about 15/16 , at the time I was getting about 50 pounds each week . which was a fair bit of money to me back in the mid 90's but in hindsight it allowed me to buy things that teenagers shouldnt have access to. Now your child is probably more trustworthy than I was , but my abbility to buy whatever I wanted early on in life lead to some major problems later on in life. A few prices that any parent should know; An 1/8 oz of hash costs €20 , a 1/4 , €30 euro. Hope you never need to know that.

foxinsocks

My uncle does something with his son which I may try with my own when she's older.... Basically, pocket money is something like a tenner, BUT, he has to pay for his entertainment... for example, its €1 for an hour of tv or browsing the internet... Unless of course its educational stuff... Means if he really wants something badly he can save quickly for it He can earn more too by doing chores around the house.

Fox_in_Socks

casper-

Originally posted by foxinsocks
Basically, pocket money is something like a tenner, BUT, he has to pay for his entertainment... for example, its €1 for an hour of tv or browsing the internet... Unless of course its educational stuff...

That's a really interesting idea Must keep that in mind for down the road... I suppose it also kinda goes along with the whole 'time is money' concept.

vector

Originally posted by dahamsta
...what age should a kid be before they ride shotgun?...

shotgun=?

Pacifico

Originally posted by vector
shotgun=?

American for "In the front seat!" .Damm friends:)

Victor

My sister has a policy of giving pocket money only when it is asked for, a perk, not a right.

Originally posted by Stark
apparently they cause more injuries than they prevent

This higher irsk, I understand, is among shorter people, not adult-sized people. The reason being that the airbag aims for adult chest height - about the height of a child's face or forehead, whipping their head back and snapping their neck, as the rest of their body is thrown forward.

dahamsta

Originally posted by Victor
My sister has a policy of giving pocket money only when it is asked for, a perk, not a right.

That's what I've decided to do, although I didn't think of it that way. And he won't be riding in the front of my car for some time to come.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

adam

sionnach

when i was younger and i really wanted to buy something big my parents would pay for half of it as long as i paid the other half. I got about a pound a week pocket money so if i wanted say a £20 set of lego i'd still have to do a good bit of saving, hence i learnt the importance of saving and value of money but still had access to more expensive stuff.

KdjaCL

We at that stage now with pocket money (no car so no problems with shotgun) i dont give pocket money as such but do encourage a work for pay scheme they 3 and 4 (nearly 4 and 5) and their rooms are starting to get cleaner and they behaving better.
Dont give them a certain amount more like (you get 2 euro if you clean your room this week)

Its not strict but it works and they learning money comes from work and not simply handed over whenever.

kdjac

Victor

Just them same don't necessarily let them think tidy room = money.

daveg

We are thinking of giving my son (nearly 5) a weekly pocket money allowance. Now I know 5 is young but I think it is a great idea for the following reasons. Up to now we will, on occasions, buy him a small toy when we are in town. However he has no idea of the value of money as he has no interaction with it. We were recently on holidays and our family's gave him dollars to spend. We added to this and he had over $150 to bring with him on holidays. We told him he could buy whatever toys he wanted (within reason) but once his money was gone that was it. As he saw toys that he wated to buy we explained how much they were and how much money he would have left. Because of this he handled the money well and spent wisely but all the toy purchases were his own decision. Of course we did buy him some toys as well but 90% were bought by himself. I think that that giving children the responsibilty of making money decisions as above is a good thing. They learn the value of money and begin to realise that they cannot buy "everything" they see on TV. We plan on giving him regular spending money (5-10 euro per week) but with the following conditions. He will save X amount from his spending money each week, be it in a post office account or into his money box. This (imo) is the most important lesson. Letting him save towards things will help him manage money in later life. He will also contimue to learn the value of money and saving towards things he wants to buy.

Walter Ego

quote:Originally posted by vector
shotgun=?

Originally posted by Axel
American for "In the front seat!" .Damm friends

Not if you live in Limerick

sceptre

As far as I know the restriction is 12 and 150cm in height. I'm not sure whether that's actually laid down somewhere or not. And I've no idea what happens with "little" adults - persumably if there's an actual rule it's "over 12 and 150cm if under 17"

Beruthiel

my 16 year old daughter gets 20 euro a week, it's enough for her as she wants for nothing - she spends that money on phone credit and books, she reads like a mad thing.
I gave her the mobile at age 14 - this is the age they tend to start to go out and hang with mates, also as her Dad and I are seperated, she can get on the bus to go between both houses, it's very handy for keeping in contact with her and making sure she is where she's supposed to be.

daveg

A friend of mine is a primary school teacher. She says all the senior infants have mobile phones but mostly parents buy them for their kids for safety and for reasons like Anna mentioned above. Personally I'd prefer to give em a phone in case of emergency.

Victor

Originally posted by daveg
She says all the senior infants have mobile phones

:dunno: I think 12 is a suitable age. Moving into secondary school the school tends to be furhter from home and the tend to to out and about unsupervised more.

I'm sure the average gurrier would love to see a 6 year old and nick their phone.

Big Ears

Originally posted by dahamsta
Pardon my ignorance but what, if anything, do people give their kids for pocket money? I've changed my mind several times because I hadn't a routine with the youngfella, but we're settling down now.

Also, what age should a kid be before they ride shotgun? I seem to remember it being a certain age and/or height but I can't find mention of it with a (cursory search of the web.

Ta,
adam

Im14 and I get E13 however I do have to do a bit of work for it e.g. : chop sticks , put turf in shed have room tidy .

I had always beleive restrictions on front seat were 12 and at least 5 foot or 13+ and any height .