‘Children’s pocket money fallen to lowest level since 2001’

Average amount given to children as pocket money has fallen to its lowest level since 2001 as rising cost of living continues to bite Britons, states a new research.

According to research from the lender Halifax, the average amount that is going into the pockets of under-16s each week has dropped by 23 percent to £4.99 this year from £6.48 in 2021, – the lowest amount since 2001.

Two-fifths of parents are still giving pocket money to their children and a third of them are expecting their offspring to do more around the house to earn it.

While parents have reduced pocket money, many claimed in the survey that they were prepared to make changes to their lifestyles to make sure they can still top up their children’s funds.

Half of parents say they would sacrifice spending on their own leisure, such as going to the pub or eating out, or forgo purchases such as makeup and designer goods (45 percent). Just over two-fifths said they would stop spending on their own hobbies, and a quarter would spend less on the weekly supermarket shop, The Guardian reported.

Children are spending their pocket money on video games and sweets (both at 39 percent), followed by toys (30 percent), clothes (29 percent) and hobbies, for example books (28 percent).

Only a fifth of parents (22 percent) say their children are most likely to save their pocket money. Halifax interviewed 629 parents of children aged eight to 15 in June for the research.

Inflation in the UK reached a 40-year high of 9.4 percent in June in response to soaring food and energy costs and is expected to touch even higher levels.

Last week the Bank of England said it expected inflation to rise to 13 percent by October. It warned of a recession lasting longer than a year, as it raised interest rates for a sixth consecutive time last week to tame inflation.

“As household costs continue to rise, some parents are having to make difficult choices as they adapt to the conditions they face – from cutting down the family grocery bill, to passing on date night, or that much-wanted personal purchase at the shops,” Emma Abrahams, the lender’s head of savings, told The Guardian.