At what age do you give your kids their own $$?

[dijid]

I was curious at what age you started giving your kids their own spending $ at Disneyworld. My oldest is 4.5 and we were thinking of giving her about $20 for the week and letting her spend it on whatever she wants. Figure this is a good way for her to learn the value of a dollar and the meaning of limited resources. But I also wonder if maybe she's still a bit young. She is pretty good at simply math and can read price tags, but are we just setting ourselves up for a melt down when she can't buy what she wants to?

 

[llp479]

We waited until our girls were 6 and 9. We "gave" them each $40 for the week to spend on souvenirs. We actually kept the money, and just kept track until they had spent their $40. Our 6 year old was able to help keep track of what she had spent, and to understand that the more something cost, the less money she would have for other things.

This worked quite well and we did it again on our last trip when they were 7 and 10. Our 10 year olds were quite frugal with their $$.

 

[my3princes]

My kids started carrying their own spending money at 4. Their grammy gave them $10 to spend on their own souveniers and they wanted to carry it in their own belly bags. Now that they're older I only let them take $20 with them of their own $$. They are good about waiting until the end of the trip to buy what they want the most. I buy T-shirts, autograph books and other things that I consider must have souveniers and they get something fun with their $$.

 

[CEDmom]

When we were in WDW last May DD was only 3 1/2 and we felt she was a little young for her own $. In December we were in DL and decided to let DD use some early Christmas $ to spend as she wished. She had $30 in total for both DL and San Diego. It was amazing how discriminating she was with a little guidance from us. She actually put several things back when she realized how much they cost. In the end she made some wise purchases that she still plays with.

 

[HollyJoy]

We haven't decided how to handle this yet! My soon to be 7 year old has been saving her money since she was 2 years old, just for this trip! LOL We're not sure how much we will let her bring, nor how much we'll let our 5 year old spend. We'll probably play it all by ear. As for letting them carry the money around, well definately not for the 5 year old... not sure on the older one! LOL

Holly

 

[TDS373X]

My DD is also 4.5 and will have her own stash of Disney Dollars to spend how she choses...disney dollars were great to stuff easter eggs with! It will be interesting to seee how she spends it.. By the way dijid where in cincy are you????...have a good time looks like we'll be there at the same time!!!

 

[memymomonica]

My daughter will have over $200.00 saved up for our December trip. She is 6 and gets a $5.00 allowance a week for doing chores. Not sure how much I will let her take. That is a lot of money for a 6 year old. She has been saving though. May let her take it all, but use some of it for Christmas gifts. We will see.

 

[tiggercrazy]

Our kids were 2, 5, 6, and 8 the last time we went. They were each given $5 DD per day. They could spend it if they wanted or save it up until the end for something big. The 8 year old saved it all, bought something small at the end and still has DD left for the next trip! I held on to the money until they wanted to make a purchase. It worked out really well. We also used the DD as behavior management. My 6 year old son didn't get his one day!

 

[marcyinPA]

My boys are turning 5 and 9 on our upcoming trip. They will each have $10 a day to spend.(they've been saving Disney Dollars from gifts/holidays, etc.) They can spend it all at once or break it up. That is up to them. But they both know that when it's gone, it's gone. I will hold the money for them. I know how easy it is to lose money, and how heartbreaking it is when you do. I just feel better about holding onto it and giving it to them when they need it.

On our last trip, they were 3 and 7. We gave them each about $40 to spend. It was hard to teach the 3 y/o the value of a dollar. Fortunately, he wanted "little things" that only cost a few dollars each. My older one, though, wanted BIG things that cost too much. I had to re-direct him a few times!!

I'm sure my little one will still have a little difficulty understanding the concept of "when it's gone, it's gone" but we have been prepping him for a while now, so I'm hoping it sinks in! I totally believe in prepping them ahead of time...how much they can spend, when and where they can spend it, what they can spend it on (yes, I do put my foot down on certain items, even if it is their own money!) etc.

Good luck!

 

[dijid]

Thanks for the responses. DH is swinging by the Disney store today and getting some D$ for her. She will love this we think.

TDS373xX - We're over on the 71-Side. What part of the city are you in? Where will you be staying? We just booked a FW cabin today. We've had the airline tickets for 3 months, but it took us until now to decide where to stay LOL!

 

[Glynis]

Our kids earn money for Disney by doing chores around the house. I've decorated jars for each one of them, and they save their pennies religiously! Then when they get to DL (never been to WDW), I hold their money for them until they've found something they want. The first time we did this my DD was 3 and she was really incredible! She spent days just looking at everything. Finally, the second to last day we were there, she found a hat she wanted, a light up toy and some suckers for her preschool class. After buying these, she found a Cinderella Barbie that she wanted. We checked the price and found that she was 2 dollars short for the doll. We had talked beforehand about not getting any extra money, and so when I told her she was short 2 dollars, she put the doll back on the shelf and walked away. I was in total shock! I expected a melt-down super-sized! I was so pleasantly surprised, that I went back later and purchased the doll for a Christmas present.

I think that as long as you discuss your rules about money your kids should be ok. They really are smarter than we give them credit for.

Have fun!

 

[carone0318]

Our dd has had her own spending money since she was 5. This will be her 3rd trip with her own money she is now 7.5 yrs old. Through various ways, she normally ends up with about $100 per trip. I carry her money. She has yet to spend the entire amt and we always have it left over for the following year's trip. Her money is for the junk stuff. I will buy a t-shirt or something like that, but she will buy pins and stuff like that. When she was 5 she bought a computer game and to this day she still pays it (even her little ds plays it.) He has his own stash of Disney dollars, but he has no clue.

 

[juliegirl]

If this is her first 'spending money' experience, I would be prepared for some issues/requests for more money. I don't think WDW is the best place to teach value or self control to a 4 year old. Start at the grocery store or Walmart and work your way up. Of course, you know her best and what she is capable of. For me, the temptations are just too great!