Between the tooth fairy and paid household chores, my daughter is officially making bank during quarantine. Go figure! And with very few brick and mortar stores open in which to spend her money (that appeal to her), she is also saving most of what she earns. I guess that’s a good thing, right?
I wrote an article about Boca kids and weekly allowances a while back. The curious Boca mom in me had started to research 1) what tasks other parents were assigning their children and 2) the going rates for said tasks. As a proud “$2 per week” Boca Raton child of the 80’s, I figured sums were probably higher in 2020. I was right. (The same goes for the Tooth Fairy, by the way…)
However, this lockdown has thrown a wrench in pretty much everything. It’s certainly affected how much money many local parents are making (and thus, able to save). So how are our kids changing their earning, spending and saving habits? I consulted the experts at RoosterMoney, the allowance tracking app, to find out.
This probably doesn’t come as a shock, but kids are spending more online since the lockdown began, with the major shift being towards games. RoosterMoney’s “Kids’ Allowance Report” for the lockdown period also shows:
- The average weekly pocket money for 4-14 year olds is $7.91
- An impressive 39% of their allowance is being saved
So, what are some of the online places kids are spending their allowance during lockdown compared to 2019?
- Roblox (+4%)
- Fortnite (+5%)
- Lego (+2%)
- Apps (+2%)
- Minecraft (+6%)
- Xbox (+3%)
- Books & Magazines (-6%)
- Amazon (+6%)
- PlayStation (+1%)
- Candy (-7%)
At least my child and I both have Amazon in common.
Boca kids, like us, are apparently also working at home. According to RoosterMoney, 80% of paid chores involve cleaning around the house. Side note: How can I start getting compensated for things like cleaning my room, looking after the pets, doing laundry (!!!), making my bed, cleaning the bathroom and emptying the dishwasher? This brings new meaning to the phrase: “To be a kid again…”
Research shows that our money habits are formed as early as age 7, and that parents are the best facilitators of this in the early years. So, while we’re all stuck at home, there may be practical reasons to involve our kids with chore routines and spending more online. There is also ample opportunity to turn those activities into valuable money lessons. (Try this Kindergarten worksheet series: Match the Coins)
And parents: if you get into a tight spot, at least you know there’s one member of your family who has extra cash lying around.
Data from the Kids’ Allowance Report, sampling 40,000 RoosterMoney users, covering 19/03/20 to 26/04/20.
