The newest Americans to get a cost-of-living raise are not government workers or teachers or anyone who actually needs one. Nope. It is children. Small children. Children who sometimes complete chores… and sometimes just confidently lie about completing chores.
A new report says the average kid now pockets $52 a month in allowance, which is about $13 a week.
Of course each kid’s take varies depending on age, work, and whether the family budget is held together by coupons and prayer. But before Grandpa fires up the rant machine about “kids these days,” a quick reality check: inflation is real. Paying a 12-year-old $13 a week today is basically the same as paying a kid in the 1990s about $5.50 a week. And for grandparents who grew up in the 1960s, it would have been about $1.25 a week.
The one place older generations are absolutely justified in shaking a fist? The workload. Kids in previous generations were probably doing more adult work, not to mention farm chores before school. Meanwhile today’s kids are earning thirteen bucks a week for cleaning their room and maybe putting the plates in the dishwasher. Truly the golden age of labor.
Still, parents say the allowance is teaching valuable skills. 78% think their kids can handle money responsibly.
61% even admit their kids are more financially responsible than they were, which is fair, because many of today’s parents learned about money by accidentally racking up overdraft fees in college.
Cash is still the most common allowance method at 56%, but parents are going digital fast. 17% pay their kids through apps like Venmo, which means somewhere an 11-year-old just typed “ty” with a sparkle emoji after receiving five dollars. 14% use special debit cards for kids.
A small slice of parents skip money entirely and pay their kids with experiences (6%) or precious screen time (another 6%), which honestly may have more value than Bitcoin in a young kid’s world.
Bottom line: Kids are earning more, working less, and somehow negotiating better benefits than most grown adults. Grandpa may not love it, but every 11-year-old with chore-induced wealth certainly does.