Modern parents are ditching pocket money for chores in favour of alternative rewards and it’s saving them a bomb

Parents today are giving modern rewards for kids doing chores instead of traditional pocket money – including extra screen time, in-game purchases and additional mobile phone data.

A study of 500 mums and dads of 12-16-year-olds revealed the new go-to ‘currencies’ to encourage youngsters to help around the home more.

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The research, found more than four in five (84 per cent) parents are now turning to alternative ‘payments’.

And 56 per cent choose to give other treats to stop their kids spending their money all in one go, while 44 per cent prefer different methods as it is cheaper.

The research, commissioned by Sky Mobile, also found that while some are still giving money for chores (23 per cent), more than a third (36 per cent) would consider switching to something else as a savvy alternative. 

Digging into her families’ experience with pocket money, singer, songwriter and mum of two, Louise Redknapp said: “Like lots of parents, I’ve also been asked by my kids for a variety of alternative ways for them to receive their pocket money.

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“Mixing it up by purchasing extra mobile data, mobile gaming credits, or a bit more screen time is great way to encourage children to help around the house and reward good behaviour – it’s a successful tried and tested method in our house.

“And to help us parents, Sky Mobile lets you share your spare data – a fab alternative to say thanks.”

The study also found children ask for additional mobile phone data three times a month – and for those who are able to share it, the going rate per chore is three gigabytes.

An average of four chores are completed by kids each week, with the most popular including setting or clearing the table (48 per cent), washing up (37 per cent) and

unloading or loading the dishwasher (36 per cent). 

But when it comes to the tasks parents feel deserve a reward most, cleaning the bathroom and helping to put the food shop away came top (12 per cent respectively).

A tenth of parents already share mobile data with their children as a thank you and 43 per cent wish that their mobile network allowed data sharing so they could gift it too.

Paul Sweeney, managing director of Sky Mobile commented: “Rewards for children helping around the house can come in all shapes and sizes, and for the modern-day kid, sometimes money just isn’t always top of the list.”

Around the country, parents from London are found to be replacing pocket money with extra screen time (39 per cent) and mobile data (25 per cent) the most. 

And almost a third of mums and dads in the West Midlands are indulging their child’s sweet tooth, seeing sweet treats and chocolates (30 per cent) as the biggest incentive for them to help out at home more.

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Parents believe rewarding their children for doing tasks will show them that hard work gets rewarded (37 per cent), while 30 per cent feel it helps to teach them positive financial behaviours.

And 29 per cent of those polled via OnePoll think it allows them to learn life skills.