£55,000,000 A Week Pocket Money…

Not even the wealthiest Russian billionaires could afford that – but it is precisely what we Brits pay out every week in pocket money - a new survey from picture book heroine Princess Poppy in conjunction with eParenting has revealed! And during school holidays, parents no doubt find themselves dipping into pockets and purses more than usual as their children ask for extra funds to see them through.

Mum of three and author of the Princess Poppy series Janey Louise Jones says “Whatever the weather we find that our boys need cash to finance their indoor or outdoor activities, especially when the bikes come out and they are a size too small! And their pocket money is never as much as such-and-such gets!” With this in mind and her latest book Princess Poppy, Pocket Money Princess flying off the shelves, Janey decided that with the help of eParenting, she would uncover the truth behind the pocket money myths with a survey. The results are astounding…

“I was shocked by the amount of money spent each week on pocket money, it is an industry in itself!” says Janey. “But it was good to see that almost all parents encouraged their children to save for more expensive items and to put money away for holidays and treats, we’ll certainly try that from now on!”

eParenting founder and mum of two Jacqui O’Brien agrees, “the issue of pocket money is one that crops up frequently on our website. Parents are often concerned about how much is the right amount for what age, how often pocket money should be given and should the children earn the money by doing little jobs around the house etc. I think it is a good idea to have children understand, from an early age, the value of money and how we can’t always have what we want straight away.”

This is the essence of the new Princess Poppy novel Pocket Money Princess where Poppy, desperate for a new bike and refused the money from her mum decides she will turn entrepreneur and earn the money herself.

So next time you are asked, “Please may I have some pocket money?” consider if they should work and save for their pennies and remember where it could be spent!

Here are some of the staggering facts that our survey revealed.

• There are 12 million children in the UK under sixteen with more than 80% receiving up to £5 a week pocket money.
• Parents are currently spending almost £55 million PER WEEK on pocket money.
• But it isn’t our teens who are claiming all the cash - with a whopping £18 million going to the under 5s.
• And what do our babes spend their riches on? Well, over £3 million each week goes towards mobile phone costs.
• In spite of the ban on junk food advertising our kids are still spending more on food and sweets than they do on toys – a staggering £11 million.
• The death of the singles chart was written in stone with only 3% of pocket money now put aside to buy music – but would still have bought and paid for 165,000 albums.
• But quite reassuringly almost half of all pocket money goes on books and magazines. It's good to know that reading is still popular.

The Princess Poppy, Pocket Money Princess Pocket Money online survey took place 12th - 26th March 2007 and the results are based on the responses of 550 parents.

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