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Home » Reader question » Reader question: Pocket money for a child in Thailand; when and how much?
Dear readers,
My foster son will be 12 years old in February and in April he will go to the Matthayom. He gets lunch money and something for a snack every day, the school (now and later) has a kitchen and a shop in front of it and on the street are the well-known stalls for fried rice or soup. But pocket money?
He doesn't get any pocket money now. We think he should learn what money is and that you can only spend it once. Someone with experience?
With kind regards,
Erik
You write:
“He doesn't get any pocket money now. We think he should learn what money is…”
If he doesn't get pocket money, I don't think he will learn how to use it
Hello.
@Eric…
My 15-year-old Thai stepdaughter gets 200 baht every day, for a motorbike taxi to and from school, and food, because that school is at the other end of Pattaya, and I don't want to drive myself, because you can never do it like those men, and I don't want to risk her life, even if I have years of experience, you are nothing, and as a falang you go to jail if you injure a Thai…
Regarding your comment about learning how to manage money… I have lived here for a year now, and have learned one thing, a Thai lives today, and certainly does not think about tomorrow… yet to meet the first Thai who knows how to manage money go… yes, with falang's money, and whoever says otherwise is blindsided…
This is certainly not meant to be disrespectful, because next month I will marry my Thai girlfriend before Buddha, but they have no sense of money, yes, if it comes from them, and then they can be very frugal, but if they get it do they have a hole in their hand, and do they think they have found a vein of gold… sounds mss harsh, and I love Thailand, otherwise I wouldn't live and marry here, but it's simply the truth, without generalizing, but I isn't far off...
Kind regards… Rudy…
My spouse 's older sister , works in the kitchen at a government hospital .
And she also earns 200 baht a day with hard work.
Does have free food every day courtesy of her ( social ?? ) feeling Thai boss .
A stepdaughter who goes to school with 200 baht daily.
She should certainly be proud of her Farang foster family.
Here many children go to school with at most 20 Bath.
But yes, there must be a difference.
Jan Beute.
Moderator: please respond to the reader's question and do not chat.
200 baht a day for a 15-year-old child seems a lot to me when you consider that the legal minimum wage in Thailand was only two years ago set by the government at 300 baht a day.
some people in the interior have to make do with much less.
you say that the Thai can't handle money and I think you're just confirming to your stepdaughter that money is easy to earn: you just hold your hand up to the farang and… donkey stretch!
Best regards…
bucky
Hello.
@Bucky57.
Can I give you an easy answer to…
Fenta school is 18 km from where we live, we live in a soi of second road, and the school is at the other end of pattay, and pattaya is big, believe me.
Motorbike taxi costs 120 baht there and back, still 80 baht left for two meals a day. That's 40 baht for one meal, the same as I pay here on soi Buakhao at the local market, 30 baht for the meat, and 10 baht for the rice… I can hardly let her starve
If I bring and collect her myself, I will give her 100 bath, but have you ever driven around Pattaya Thai at 8 am on a motorbike, and I have 30 years of experience with the heaviest bikes, but like a motorbike taxi driver , you can never do that, those men were born on a bike… and I just don't want to see her in the hospital… you can never ride like those men…
And my girlfriend, my wife next month, does indeed think that I have a money tree in my garden, that is what most Thais think of a falang, and anyone who thinks the opposite is blind..
With all due respect to Thailand, otherwise I wouldn't be living and getting married here, but that's the reality… and yes, my stepdaughter costs me 5000 baht a month, not including school fees, her room and school uniforms, and believe me, I know Isaan better than you think because my girlfriend is from Chaiyapoom we went there 4 weeks ago for a week so I know how poor they are there but if I don't do it like that she will come in three years like most in prostitution or in a bar, and then I find that five thousand bath, even if I have to save the food from my mouth, more than worth it!!!
And a Thai will never tell you: I love you, mine does say thank you like today when I paid for her room, where her daughter sleeps… and food, but through the grapevine I hear that she really appreciates what I have done for her and her daughter doe… and if you ask your girlfriend to stop working as a waitress in a beer bar, don't like that word, because she never went with a “customer”, and believe her, know her long enough, then do you have to bear the consequences of that, it is difficult for them to live off love, and that includes her daughter…
That 200 bath is not pocket money, I never give, but to pay everything…
TIT… this is Thailand man, and whoever claims otherwise has to prove it to me..
Kind regards from Pattaya… Rudy
Yes, but how come your wife (and with her so many other Thai women) is convinced that you (and by extension all farangs) have a money tree that they just have to shake to get money?
Could it be that you (and those other women) think that because you (and the farang partners of those other women) always give in when they start bleating for money (for themselves or the family)?
Thai-minded greetings from Buriram
Steve Brothers
rudy,
So you don't give any pocket money and that was the question.
Everything else is also paid by the questioner.
As an aside, my wife, who is also Thai, does say "I love you" or "I love you" even after 10 years of legal marriage. And yes, I also met her 18 years ago in a Beerbar and now let it be Pattaya too…
Pattaya is not the same as Thailand, just as the Isan is not the "only" Thailand. I come to both occasionally and happily, but Thailand is much more than that. Give it a try I'd say.
Dear Erik,
My wife's youngest son got 40 Baht per day he is 12 years old that is for his lunch and some extra we gave that per day since January we gave him 300 Baht per week he has some extra on weekends and when his money runs out he has nothing for the rest of the week that all went fine. In June we increased it to 1500 Baht per month on the understanding that if I notice that he is using it incorrectly, for example spending the weekend in an internet shop, we will go back to 0 and he will come home for lunch. So far everything is going well at the end of the month he still has enough money for the last week.
Greetings Cees
Erik
You should have started earlier, almost 12 and no pocket money yet….how should he learn to deal with it then…??
Not only does he have to learn to plan the spending….but above all the saving…..So give him a generous allowance and let him save for big expenses himself…..so you no longer pay that for him…you get it…
Personally, I would make him responsible for a good 500 baht per week….increasing if he is late
see that he can / wants to save for later I would quickly give him much more ... then you will no longer do that for him ....
Good luck and greetings from Pattaya
Johan
My two daughters also go to secondary school and there too you have to pay for lunch.
At first we each gave 100 Bhat per person per day, but that turned out to be too little and went from 150 Bhat to now 200 Bhat, which seems quite a lot for lunch. But the problem is that other children get up to 10.000 Bhat a month.
Then they don't always eat at school, but they also walk to a Swensens or something.
And then it goes hard of course.
Teaching children to save is very nice, but it is a Western activity, here in Thailand I think they live from day to day, even with my wife (Thai) after 7 years of practice, it is always earlier than she thought.
She doesn't make a problem of that either, because it's gone and she's waiting like almost all Thais for new Bhatjes to arrive.
Greetings Nico
As a parent I wouldn't be in favor of my kids spending their money on snacks, just something for lunch so they can eat healthy. In addition, some pocket money to spend as they see fit, making it clear that they have to save for expenses themselves. 200 baht as a total amount for food + pocket money p / w seems sufficient for a 12 year old. If they then buy ice cream from that… rather not, but hopefully the penny will drop quickly that they will not be able to do (buy) other things, plus that it is not healthy to snack every day.
Everyone can try to teach you how to save, not everyone can handle money. One has a hole in his hand, the other is on the pennies. Seems ingrained in the character to me. one child is sensible, the other may not be (too easy, too stingy). Has little to do with Thai, I really didn't have to tell my girlfriend how important saving is, and budgeting is just fine for her. I never actually asked her if and how she got pocket money or learned how to handle money.
How much pocket/eat/clothing money you give (I used to only get a lunch box, pocket money and went shopping with my mom) ultimately depends on your budget, etc. The Netherlands is not Thailand, but if you converted from baht to euros, you already have the same amount or more If you give the Nibut guideline, then I would check again whether you are not throwing money around, that does not seem to me to be a good learning experience. They should get enough to be able to save and buy something, but spoiling or squeezing them very generously does not seem wise to me. If necessary, explain to them roughly how mom and dad do all that with income and expenses, and that you have to save for that big holiday or other purchase, for example.
There are advices in NL that are issued for pocket money by Nibud. Between 2 and 4 euros for 11-12 year olds per week. That is only for your own use! In Thailand you then end up with say between 30 and 60 bath per week, and then you calculate very well from euros to bath. (given the cost of living differences). If you want him to save or buy things himself, that must of course be higher. A tip that many parents do: they open an account and deposit an amount there (parent together with child) every week. (so not an automatic transfer, just go to the bank or ATM together every week) You can agree on what that can be spent on.
Thanks for the responses. Will discuss with his foster mom = his grandma = my partner.
Our daughter receives 600 baht per week and we give it on Sunday evening.
When it runs out, she has to wait for the new payout. She does receive a clothing allowance once every 3 months.
She helps someone on the market (her friend's mother) and she also earns something from that. So for now it's going pretty well.
It all depends a bit on what you can spare, of course.
I don't have children myself, so I don't have any experience in terms of giving pocket money, but just for comparison, my girlfriend, 22 years old, who is still studying at the university and has a part-time job, who has just about 2000-3000 baht per month in terms of salary, if she really many hours might just make 4-5000 baht.
If you are going to give children 12 baht or more per week, that is already quite a lot of money in Thailand. I'd be more inclined to not go too crazy in terms of pocket money, and let them get a job when they are a few years older. Then they not only learn to plan financial expenses, but also that it has to come from somewhere. My parents always did and it didn't really make me any worse. If the day ever comes when I have children of my own, they will also look for a part-time job at the age of 500-15.
I think 200 baht a day is a bit much – 200 x 7 = 1400,-
the average income in Thailand is 1500,- per week
for adult thai…
Dear Chris,
Personally I think it's too much (it's 5 days instead of 7 days), but I still think it's too much.
But at a secondary or high school, both in the Netherlands and in Thailand, it is the groups of kids among themselves that determine whether or not your kids have a crisis at home. The time of taking lunch boxes to school is really over in both the Netherlands and Thailand.
But yes, a good school education makes the difference in Thailand;
To saber the rest of your life or to have a generous life and the kids understand that all too well (fortunately)
I also totally agree with BA, when they are about 15/16 years old they can look for a job, even if only for a few hours a week and see how difficult it is to get money.
Greetings Nico
Yes guys what am I reading here are you all a bit crazy or something???
I ask myself the question what do you give to the mother and the family
Long live the falang the walking ATM as long as he can afford it to me you are a bunch of madmen
Did you come to live in Thailand to just give away all your hard-earned money
No participation seen me
I am a bit surprised when I read some of the amounts. If I put that next to the minimum wage that a Thai has to work all day for.
It will depend on where you live.
We live in the Isaan and in the middle of nowhere and the school is the only point where he can spend some money. His friends have zero pocket money and no i-phone and no laptop and no internet and no space station or what's that stuff called. We continue to pay food and clothes and school fees. We are going to give him, discussed, an extra 600 b/m and encourage him to save that.
Stuffing him with money will only give him jealous looks and we want to avoid that. Something extra on his birthday and put it in his bank book. And no ATM card before he turns 18.
Yes sorry I am surprised about so much commotion about how much pocket money or school money should I give (my) child, go ask his or her mother what she got when she was young, I myself come from a large family 7 children and my parents We weren't really doing well, but by taking a lot of things off my mother's hands we immediately got a good upbringing and that was, perhaps the less wealthy among us have heard of, a job for a job comes from Amsterdam that's how things went we go to all the neighbors ( clean up the garden, wash the car and all this kind of thing, what I mean by that is do something that you will be rewarded for, then you will learn that money does not grow on trees. That is what I want to say about those farang who doesn't know how many children get 20 baths to school and there are enough around hua hin alone, so open your eyes gentlemen and don't do the same as in the Netherlands because then you will get situations that can no longer be overlooked.
Wish you all much wisdom and happiness.
I gave my children pocket money, increasing with their age and the same amount as savings.
They saved that part of their savings with me and I gave them a large interest on it, a great success, every six months the "bank" added the large interest, with that savings they could then buy something of their own choice, so they always had some money and learned how to handle money very well.
When they got older, clothing money was also added.
The pocket money, yes, that depends on the costs a child has, whether or not a motorbike taxi, etc. and the cost of the food on site, a grandson of my wife receives THB 20 per day from his mother, which is just enough to buying food from for lunch, I think the child can also have something extra for something sweet, e.g. THB 10 – 20 per day, but well that is a decision of the mother.NicoB
I have an 8 year old child in school whom we give 40 baht daily. Usually that goes on but sometimes she comes home with 10 Baht. So my experience is 30 to 40 Baht pocket money is enough.
Assuming how much you used to get yourself or making a comparison to the present doesn't seem ideal to me.
Maybe take a look at the schoolmates, what is the norm?
If no one in the class gets pocket money, why should you give your child pocket money?
If it is the custom that everyone receives 10 Bath by way of example, would that follow.
There will of course be differences depending on whether you live in an urban or rural environment.
Do you agree with the school policy?
Furthermore, age is also important. Anyone can bring mere pocket or lunch money. But what is it for? Whether you give 20 or 150 Bath, you always manage to run out.
But don't give the wrong signal. You can encourage them to save from that and to spend it differently. Or give more on the condition that something is done for it, wash the car, ... You have to learn how to deal with money, and preferably from the moment a child receives it for the first time?
success with it!