[Question:]{.underline} Is it wise to give children pocket money?
[Answer:]{.underline} A judgment of prudence consists in taking the right means to attain one’s goal. Pocket money must be given for a reason, and that reason is certainly not to placate children, or so that they can be like their friends, or have everything that they want. The reason why children would be given pocket money would be to teach them a sense of responsibility in the use of the means placed at their disposal in the best way possible. It is important for a parent to realize that it is not because he has given his child pocket money that he is free from all responsibility as to how it is spent. The parent should not only know, but also supervise, the spending of this money, and make it quite clear that he has the authority to forbid, unnecessary, wasteful or worldly use of pocket money.
It is also important for children to learn from an early age that privileges such as pocket money need to be earned, and that it will be suppressed for behavior problems. It is also a necessary education to give it as a payment for on time, joyful and good performance of chores, so that pocket money is not something to be taken for granted.
The age at which pocket money is given and the sums given are highly variable, depending upon culture, the family’s economic status and life style and the parents’ methods of education. It is doubtless preferable to err on the side of austerity and poverty, as is usually the case with large families.
Answered by Father Peter Scott, SSPX.