Gifting money to a child at Christmas, a rich idea?

Is it really a good idea to give your child money as a Christmas present? While most teens prefer to receive hard cash rather than gifts they won’t use (they say), for younger kids the question may arise. But psychologist Laurence Peltier advises parents to wait until their child is at least 12/13 years old, ideally 14 years old, to do so.

“Before that age, making a list of Christmas gifts prompts children to question what they like and allows parents to continue to be interested in their tastes,” she explains. around that list and continue to exert some influence. For example in the case of a video game application, they may tip the scales towards a different game, which seems better suited to the age and personality of the game. ‘child”.

However, according to a survey * carried out by the Poll & Roll Institute for Pixpay, the new banking application intended for adolescents (10-18 years), 81% of them will receive money at Christmas. And they are already 70% of young people aged 10 to 12 to be affected, this figure rising to 82% for 13-14 year olds then 86% for 15-16 year olds, and finally 92% for 17-18 year olds . As they grow older, the sums also become more important, with an average of 64 euros for 10-12 year olds, 67.20 euros for 13-14 year olds, 80.70 euros for 15-16 year olds and finally 100 euros for 17 -18 years old.

But be reassured, from the age of 15, the approach becomes different. Laurence Peltier confirms this: “At this age, the young person needs to assert themselves, to differentiate themselves and may desire more expensive gifts / projects, she says. However, the choice of money must come from the child, and it is important from then on. when respecting it, but not under any conditions “. The psychologist advises parents in particular “to encourage their teenager to think upstream about the choice of the possible gift with the financial collection”.

“Indeed, requesting / receiving a Christmas (or birthday) gift contains a counterpart, namely a minimum of exchange around this gift, and therefore transparency on (at least part of) its use, underlines- So at Christmas, when receiving the envelope, it is important for the young person to be able to discuss the expenditure plan, for example that he takes the time to discuss the spending project with his grandfather. bike, his tastes, his criteria. Then, once the purchase has been made, the young person must think of thanking. As a result, each one finds himself in one of the symbolic dimensions of the gift: namely to keep a material trace of this gift “.

Concretely, still according to the Pixpay survey, whatever the salary level, parents will be far from being tight-fisted towards their children with an average budget of 81 €. A special mention, however, for households earning between 1,000 and 1,499 euros net of income. In terms of generosity, they will offer around € 75.40, i.e. € 15 more than households with a net income between € 1,500 and € 1,999 (€ 60) and as much as households earning from € 2,000 to € 2,999 (75, 60 €). Enough to make people happy for both girls and boys, the French showing fairness with all the same 1 euro more for girls at Christmas!

* Online survey carried out between November 12 and 18, 2019 with 1000 people questioned.