The educational value of pocket money

If parents’ evening this week was anything to go by, Belle’s mental maths is pretty hot. The point was proven nicely recently when Bee sent her to the shop with two pounds to buy her a small bottle of coke.

“Here’s your change,” said Belle, handing over 26p.

“Where’s the rest?” said Bee.

“That’s all there is,” said Belle.

Bee looked disbelieving. “So how much was the coke??”

“£1.74,” said Belle smoothly.

See?

Now we all know that a small bottle of coke isn’t £1.74, but that’s not the point, (although it was for Bee naturally). The point I’m trying to make is that regularly handling money has made Belle pretty quick at maths. I’m not alone either. A recent survey by TK Maxx found that four in five parents use shopping to teach their children numeracy skills, getting them to add up and subtract the cost of their purchases.

One particularly funny thing the survey also found is that men are not to be trusted when it comes to balancing the budget. Most parents apparently agree that mums are better at teaching children the value of money (62%), compared to just over a quarter who put the same level of trust in dads.

Belle’s money management skills have been put to the test through her new Roosterbank account too, although at the moment more often than not it’s working out how much money she can take out and spend on strawberry laces rather than concentrating on saving. I really don’t know where she gets her need for instant gratification.

*reaches for third caramel hobnob*

If I were Belle I’d be saving up for this:

How cool would that be? I could put on some tight black trousers and a little leather jacket and pretend to be on CSI. It would be awesome.

Does having their own pocket money help your child with their maths? How do you teach your children the value of money?