Piggo
Chores and Pocket Money: Age-by-Age Chart With Amounts
Updated August 2026 · Written by Mark, dad of three and the maker of Piggo
Should kids be paid for helping at home? The short answer: for some chores, not for all – and what matters most is that the rules are crystal clear. Here's the model that works in our own family of three kids, with concrete tasks, amounts and age suggestions.
The ground rule: two kinds of chores
Family chores are free. Tidying your own room, putting your plate in the dishwasher, hanging up your clothes – you do those because you live here. Pay for that kind of thing and you end up with kids who ask "what do I get?" before passing the salt.
Extra chores can be earned. Tasks beyond the basics – the ones you'd otherwise do yourself – can pay: emptying the dishwasher for the whole family, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, washing the car. They're effectively the family's odd jobs, and they teach the link between effort and income.
The chart: chores, ages and typical amounts
| Chore | From age | Typical amount |
|---|---|---|
| Setting / clearing the table | 4–5 | £0–0.25 |
| Feeding pets | 5–6 | £0–0.50 |
| Emptying the dishwasher | 6–7 | £0.50 |
| Watering plants | 6–7 | £0.50 |
| Taking out the rubbish | 7–8 | £0.50 |
| Vacuuming a room/floor | 8–10 | £1–1.50 |
| Hanging up / folding laundry | 9–11 | £1–1.50 |
| Washing the car | 10–12 | £3–5 |
| Mowing the lawn | 11–13 | £3–6 |
| Cooking dinner for the family | 12–14 | £3–6 |
| Babysitting a younger sibling (evening) | 13–15 | £6–12 |
The amounts are our experience-based suggestions – scale to your budget and the size of the task. The principle matters more than the pennies: same task, same pay, every time.
Four rules that make it work
1. Agree the price before the work is done
Otherwise every chore becomes a negotiation. Make a fixed "price list" and put it somewhere everyone can see it (or keep it in the app, so it's always at hand).
2. Approval before payout
"I DID vacuum!" – did you though? A quick parent check before the money moves keeps quality up and turns the payment into recognition instead of an automatic transaction. In Piggo, the child marks the chore done, and the money is only posted once a grown-up approves.
3. Let siblings compete for open chores
Post some tasks as "first come, first served": whoever grabs it, gets it. It's remarkable how fast the lawn gets mowed once a younger brother has spotted the job too. (Yes, that's a built-in Piggo feature – it was invented at our house.)
4. Missed chore = no money. No more drama than that
Avoid fines and deductions – they breed sulking and creative accounting. A chore that didn't get done simply doesn't get paid. Simple, fair, easy to enforce.
What about the fixed allowance?
The two systems complement each other: a fixed base allowance (for learning to manage money – see our pocket money calculator) plus extra chores (for learning to earn it). That way your child experiences both: money you can count on, and money you can work for.
Put it on autopilot
Paper charts on the fridge work – for three weeks. Piggo keeps track of everything: recurring and open chores each with their own price, the child's "done" mark, parent approval, automatic posting to the child's account, and reminders when a deadline approaches. Free, with no bank account and no card.
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