Children's role in the domestic economy

Studies of family finances have largely concentrated on adults. This paper examines the neglected role of children in the receiving and spending of money and reports on an investigation of children's own views on their involvement in handling money. It is shown that pocket money is an institution perceived by both parents and children to be as much a mechanism for transferring adult values about expenditure and saving as to give children independent access to money. Many children receive cash from outside the nuclear family. particularly as part of a wider exchange network of kin. Some money is given freely, some is provided in return for domestic tasks performed by children.