But nowadays, budding young entrepreneurs are turning their skills to online selling, or even influencing, to top up their pocket money. Four in 10 (38%) children have a “side hustle” – including a third (33%) of younger children aged six to nine – according to new research for Starling Bank among 2,000 parents of children aged six to 16. More than six in 10 (61%) parents say their kids will even negotiate how much they should get paid for doing specific tasks.
And the younger generation are proving to be very successful at honing their negotiating skills – on average, being able to barter around a third (34%) more than their parents had originally been willing to hand over. Getting a good school report, looking after their siblings, washing the car, helping out in the garden, doing their homework, good behaviour and walking the dog are all popular ways for children to earn extra cash from their parents, the study found. Boys are slightly more successful at negotiating extra money from their parents for tasks – 63% have previously been able to, versus 59% of girls.
Starling Bank’s family finance expert Rachel Kerrone says: “Children seem to be smarter than ever with money.” The research also indicates that kids are around three times as likely to sell items online than they are to have a traditional paper round. Only around 4% of kids have a paper round, while one in eight (12%) sell items online.
Meanwhile, youngsters are just as likely to earn money doing .