Not so grim up North: Children in Edinburgh are earning the most pocket money in the UK

21/05/2018

• New research from The Entertainer shows children in Edinburgh are earning £4.53 per week, almost twice the UK average
• Children in Plymouth are earning the least, getting an average of £1.23 per week
• Washing the car is the highest paying chore, earning children an average of £2.20

Children’s toy retailer, The Entertainer, have conducted a nationwide survey into pocket money habits, looking at how much money children are getting, what they’re doing to earn it, and what they’re spending it on

How much pocket money are children earning?

The study found that across the UK, children between the ages of 5 and 10 are earning an average of £2.54 per week. Children in Scotland are earning the most, with those in Edinburgh earning £4.53 per week, with those in Glasgow following closely behind with £4.13 per week.

At the other end of the scale are Plymouth and Sheffield, with children in those cities earning an average of £1.23 and £1.62 per week respectively.

• Edinburgh - £4.53
• Glasgow - £4.13
• Cardiff - £3.49
• Manchester - £3.21
• Bristol - £2.89
• Newcastle - £2.85
• Leeds - £2.77
• Belfast - £2.52
• London - £2.45
• Birmingham - £2.46
• Liverpool - £2.42
• Norwich - £2.40
• Brighton - £1.96
• Southampton - £1.77
• Nottingham - £1.69
• Sheffield - £1.62
• Plymouth - £1.23

What are the highest paying chores?

According to the survey, parents are the most generous when it comes to washing their cars, paying out an average of £2.20 for this chore. The lowest paying chore is filling and emptying the dishwasher, with children earning an average of £1.05 for this.

• Washing the car - £2.20
• Doing the ironing - £1.96
• Gardening - £1.73
• Preparing meals - £1.51
• Tidying their bedroom - £1.44
• Washing the dishes - £1.30
• Hoovering - £1.29
• Hanging the washing out - £1.16
• Taking the rubbish & recycling out - £1.11
• Dusting - £1.08
• Filling & emptying the dishwasher - £1.05

What chores are children doing to earn their pocket money?

Across the UK, tidying their bedroom was the most common chore done to earn pocket money, with 61.9% of children doing this. Doing the ironing was the least common, with only 1.9% of children helping out in this area.

• Tidying their bedroom – 61.90%
• None – 27.8%
• Taking the rubbish and recycling out – 25.8%
• Washing the dishes – 25.4%
• Hoovering – 24.2%
• Dusting – 21.8%
• Filling & emptying the dishwasher – 14.3%
• Washing the car – 10.9%
• Gardening – 10.7%
• Preparing meals – 7.3%
• Other – 4.1%
• Doing the ironing – 1.9%

What are children spending their pocket money on?

When it comes to spending their hard-earned cash, Lego continues to be a firm favourite, being chosen as the number one toy by 31.4% of children, followed by slime and silly putty, with 23.3% of the vote.

• Lego – 31.4%
• Slime and silly putty – 23.2%
• Arts and crafts – 21.1%
• Squishies – 18.8%
• Collectibles – 17.4%
• Dolls – 16.3%
• Action figures – 15.5%
• Cars, trains and planes – 10.7%
• No pocket money – 10.3%
• Other – 10.1%
• No toys – 7.9%
• Outdoor toys – 7.6%
• Board games – 6.3%

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The Entertainer surveyed a sample of 1,000 people with children aged between 5 and 10 years old. Research was carried out online by Censuswide in April 2018.

Questions 3 and 4 allowed respondents to select up to 3 options for which chores their children do and which toys they spend their pocket money on.

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