Boys Trump Girls on the Pocket Money

Boys are likely to earn more weekly pocket money than girls ($48.00 versus $45.00) despite spending less time on average, completing their household chores (2.1 hours each week versus 2.7 hours for girls), according to new research.

National figures from The Westpac Kids and Money Report, also reveal that boys are saving more than girls, putting away 29% of their weekly pocket money ($14.10) compared to their female counterparts who put away 25% of their weekly income ($11.40).

Gai McGrath, Westpac’s General Manager of Retail Banking, believes that while earning money for chores is an important lesson for kids to learn, parents should keep a close watch over the chores to ensure there is a fair system in place.

“I am sure most parents would agree that children should be treated equally when earning their pocket money, yet our research suggests that is not necessarily the case, with boys undertaking fewer chores but earning slightly more, and as a consequence, saving more,” McGrath said.

Gender roles seem to also impact parent’s decisions when they divide up the household chores. Girls are more likely to be given indoor jobs, such as cleaning the bedroom (90% of girls versus 81% of boys) and doing the dishes (59% of girls versus 43% of boys) whereas boys are more likely to be assigned outdoor jobs.

“These include taking out the rubbish (61% of boys versus 40% of girls) and mowing the lawn or gardening (23% of boys versus 8% of girls).

“We don’t think that parents are intentionally paying their sons more, they probably don’t
have a concrete system in place to monitor their pocket money distribution. We are
encouraging parents to take stock of their current pocket money routine to make sure it’s fair and will allow kids to keep track of their responsibilities and payments,” McGrath said.

The research coincides with the launch of Westpac’s iPhone App, Pay Pig, which lets parents can keep track of household chores and payments for their children and sends reminders to the child to complete their chores and alerts the parent to pay the child once complete. Parents can also keep track of how much each child is being paid.

“Kids today are incredibly tech savvy. Our research shows that those who earn pocket
money by doing chores and use technology to track their savings are more than twice as likely to understand the value of money (45%) than those who don’t do either (18%),” McGrath said.

Key Finds of the Chores, pocket money and gender study include:

• On average, boys earn more weekly pocket money than girls ($48.00 versus $45.00)
• Boys save on average 29% of their weekly income ($14.10), compared to girls who save 25% of their weekly income ($11.40).
• Boys spend less time each week completing their household chores (2.1 hours versus girls at 2.7 hours)
• Boys are more likely to do outdoor chores compared to girls who tend to do indoor chores 
• Cleaning the bedroom – 90% of girls versus 81% of boys
• Doing the dishes – 59% of girls versus 43% of boys
• Taking out the rubbish – 61% of boys versus 40% of girls
• Mowing the lawn or gardening – 23% of boys versus 8% of girls
• Children who earn money through chores or a part time job and use technology to track their finances have a better understanding of the value of money (45%) than those who don’t use technology or earn money through chores or a part time job (18%).