THERE are many reasons for giving or withholding pocket money - but if you do choose to dole it out, do it wisely.
Give it as a treat, withhold it as a punishment, use it as a learning tool, reward it for completed chores.
Reasons for giving pocket money vary widely - and many parents don't give it at all.
While one recent study suggested that only half of British parents pay their children pocket money, new research has found that although just one in three preschool children get a small allowance, by the age of seven the majority of kids (87 per cent) are receiving pocket money.
The research, by the thinkmoney banking service, discovered that seven-year-olds receive, on average, £3.71 a week, or £193 a year. Allowances increase when a child goes to high school, and the average 13-year-old receives £8.13 a week. By the time they reach 16, children typically receive more than £10 a week, or £534 a year.
"Pocket money is a good way for children to understand the value of money and to get the budgeting habit early," says thinkmoney spokesman Ian Williams. "Parents can use pocket money as a reward for their child helping around the home or for great behaviour. And of course, parents should lead by example and only give what they can comfortably afford."
Indeed, separate research by the money-saving brand vouchercloud.com found that 46 per cent of parents don't give pocket money to their children, with nearly half of them saying it was because they couldn't afford it.