There’s no correct amount. But it helps to know what’s typical, so here are the most recent UK figures we could verify.
| Child’s age | Average per week, 2024 | Average per week, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | £3.69 | £4.05 |
| 7 | £3.82 | £4.25 |
| 8 | £4.14 | £4.58 |
| 9 | £4.71 | £5.14 |
| 10 | £5.62 | £6.02 |
| 11 | £7.36 | £7.83 |
| 12 | £9.71 | £10.42 |
| 13 | £12.31 | £13.36 |
| 14 | £14.57 | £15.84 |
| 15 | £16.98 | £18.18 |
| 16 | £17.89 | £19.67 |
| 17 | £17.13 | £18.74 |
| 18 | £14.52 | £16.60 |
Source: anonymised GoHenry account data, covering 1 January to 1 November 2025, as reported by Nation.Cymru on 27 December 2025. The overall average was £10.73 a week. Checked 6 November 2026.
What these numbers don’t tell you
- They only cover some families. These are children whose parents pay for a kids’ debit card, so they don’t represent every household. A survey of a different group would give different answers.
- Averages get pulled upwards. A few large payments can lift an average well above what a typical child receives.
- They don’t say what the money has to cover. £15 a week that must pay for lunches, bus fares and clothes is a very different deal from £15 for fun.
A simple way to choose
- Decide what it’s for. Treats and toys at first. Add responsibilities, like a mobile top-up or a school trip, as they get older.
- Pick an amount you can keep up. A small amount that arrives every week teaches more than a big amount that comes when you remember.
- Make saving possible. Children should be able to reach a real goal in weeks, not years. The savings goal calculator shows how long it would take.
- Review it on birthdays. That gives a predictable pay rise, and fewer negotiations.
You may have heard the rule of thumb of £1 a week for each year of age. Against the figures above, that looks generous for primary school children, and about right from 13.
When should you start?
Earlier than you might think. A 2013 report for the UK’s Money Advice Service, written by researchers at Cambridge University, argued that many of the habits that shape how we handle money, like planning ahead and waiting for something better, are largely forming by about the age of seven (coverage in YourMoney). That doesn’t mean it’s too late at eight. It does suggest that you don’t need to wait until they’re old enough for a bank card.
You don’t even need real money to begin. Virtual coins that swap for rewards you choose teach the same earning, saving and waiting, and if a coin gets spent badly, all that’s lost is a coin. That’s how PocketQuest works, and PocketQuest can also show coins as pounds and pay weekly pocket money in coins if you’d like it to feel more real.