Pocket money pushovers

Pressure to ‘keep up with the Joneses' will see parents fork out a total of £1.8bn in pocket money this summer, according to new research. Parents will give each child an average of £246 over the summer, with 17 per cent admitting they feel bulldozed into giving their kids the same amount of spending money as their friends.
 
The research, from Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, found that 42 per cent of parents are dreading the squeeze on their purse strings over the summer break. Despite over half of parents (52 per cent) admitting that kids get too much cash these days, dads will be handing out an average of £260 to their children over the summer and mums will shell out £232. Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) said their children are much better off than they were growing up.
 
Over one in five parents (21 per cent) state that their children often play them off each other in order to wangle more spending money out of them. A further fifth of parents (20 per cent) admit that their children have guilt-tripped them into handing out more money with almost a quarter of dads (24 per cent) having fallen for this tactic compared to 17 per cent of mums.
 
Over a third of dads (35 per cent) admit that they are a walkover when it comes to handing out cash, with 18 per cent preferring to splash the cash to keep the kids occupied rather than face the consequences - compared to just one in ten mums (ten per cent). 44 per cent of dads admit that they go on family days out just to keep the kids happy - compared to 40 per cent of mums who refuse a family day out in order to keep an eye on the bank balance.
 
Adding to the summer spend, 38 per cent of parents will be forking out on DVDs and video games to keep their kids entertained and 15 per cent will splash out on the latest fashions for their kids.
 
The findings reveal that the clichés of ‘daddies' girls' and ‘mummies' boys' are only myths, with dads handing out £119 less per year in spending money to their daughters than their sons. Mums are far more even-handed, only spending £8 more on sons in pocket money through the course of the year. 35 per cent of dads admit that they struggle to keep pocket money equal between their children, with a fifth (20 per cent) finding sons to be more persuasive when they ask for pocket money.
 
Jacky Brown, at Sheilas' Wheels home insurance, said: "In these tough economic times it is no wonder that the spending costs associated with keeping kids happy over the long summer holidays are putting added pressure on family finances.
 
"Understandably, every parent wants the very best for their children but as that often comes with a hefty price tag, it can really help the peace of mind for a family to make sure they have adequate home insurance, that covers the replacement cost as new of all their family's (including their child's) possessions within the home. If these items are taken away from the home it is important to make sure they have adequate personal possessions cover."