Buy a video game, go out with friends or put aside for the purchase of a new phone … For teenagers, pocket money is often the first step towards financial autonomy. But not all are housed in the same brand: according to families, age and even the parent to whom they ask, generosity is not the same.
Are you more stingy or generous than the average?
According to a new Pixpay study, only 58 % of young people aged 10 to 18 today receive pocket money. The average sum is 26 euros per month, against 29 euros in 2024 and 36 euros in 2023. A brutal fall which represents, according to the study, “a loss of about a month and a half of pocket money (36 euros), without any compensation”.
The amounts also evolve according to age:
- 10-12 years: 20 euros per month;
- 12-14 years: 23 euros;
- 14-16 years: 29 euros;
- 16-18 years: 34 euros.
The older ones, however, took advantage of a good extension before the summer: the 16-18 year olds received an average of 104 euros, boosted by the holidays and their many activities.
Some parents in the couple are more generous than others
The study also reveals that the sum varies according to the parent who takes out the portfolio. Fathers give an average of 43 euros to a teenager aged 16 to 18, compared to 36 euros for mothers.
A difference that Coraline Ménager, co -founder of Pixpay, explains to Echos by two hypotheses: “Because the latter are traditionally less in control of the family budget and therefore allow themselves more generosity, and because men always gain an average of women than women“.
Should we absolutely give pocket money to your child?
But in reality, should you absolutely give pocket money to your child? Questioned in a previous article on the subject, psychologist Florence Albinhac-Morel clearly responds. “”Pocket money is not due. There is no obligation to give it. It also has more value when you have to provide efforts to obtain it “.
For her part, Amélie Boukhobza, a clinical psychologist, believes that giving pocket money is interesting.
“”Provided to exchange, together, on how money will be spent, to which it will be dedicated. Of course, your child must manage his month with the agreed sum, there is no question of making an extension. In addition, this money must be dissociated from the small attentions that are offered as a parent. Giving him a gift for example has nothing to do “.
Each family must therefore think and find their own answers. “”You have to make your choices according to what you feel, not what the child claims or what others do. You have to trust yourself. We are legitimate as parents to define limits and enforce them, which will allow the child to build himself“Concludes Florence Albinhac-Morel.