How the gender pay gap starts with pocket money, according to new research

Give your kids a financial education from a young age – they will carry these lessons with them later on in life (Getty/iStock)

Teaching your children the real value of money can be a thorny issue.

From whether it should be considered a gift or earned by doing chores, to what they should be allowed to spend it on and just how much parents should be coughing up, finances are a fraught business.

So much so, that even the amount children receive doesn’t go unaffected by the gender pay gap.

New research from Roy Morgan – an Australian market research company – reveals which gender comes out on top in terms of finances among children aged between six and 13.

Interestingly, it found that girls are generally paid more for completing chores earning $6.20 (£3.48) a week compared to $4.78 (£3.69) earned by boys, and that girls are better at saving.

However, boys still come out on top overall with figures showing that because boys receive more money as gifts from friends and family they generally have more money to save.

The data showed that while girls are paid $93.92 (£52.76) per year for birthday gifts, boys are paid $104.03 (£58.44).

Boys also received more at Christmas with $74.67 (£41.95) compared to $66.09 (£37.13) given to girls.

“The value of saving is an important lesson kids learn, and the means in which to save are important. This was last explored in 2016 where we reported Aussie kids were saving more than ever, but girls were lagging behind boys,” said Michele Levine, CEO at Roy Morgan.

“In 2017, girls earn more pocket money or money for doing chores, and for school expenses like pens and pencils, and helping around the house.

“Yet on average boys are receiving more for birthdays, Christmas, and gifts from relatives. Whether girls need to write an angry complaint to Santa or not, they should be proud of the fact that more of them are saving than boys, which will hold them in good stead for the future and make them able to purchase the items and toys they truly desire.”

So, when should you start teaching your children about the value of money?

According to experts, handling money at a young age can boost children’s academic performance and play can be a great way to teach them about the daily use of money.

“Teaching a child how to count money not only boosts their maths skills but really teaches them about money concepts, budgeting and the value of money,” 7IM co-founder Justin Urquhart Stewart previously told The Independent.

“In fact, pocket money is pointless until they can count money – but the promise of it sure is a good incentive to get kids counting that money [something many young children struggle with].”