Today’s 12-year-olds can afford a lot more – Swedish Dagbladet

Today’s 12-year-olds can afford more Big Macs and Piggelin than those who grew up in the mid 80s. Photo: Gene J. Puskar / AP and GB

In 1986, handed 12-year-olds monthly allowance to 28.5 Piggelin ice-creams or 4.7 Big Mac hamburger. Now, three decades later, purchasing power has increased, and 12-year-old may be gorging themselves 32,5 Piggelin or the entire 6.2 Big Macs, according to calculations made by the Swedbank in its annual survey of children and young people’s economy.

However, it is not the children who get a larger share of the household budget. On the contrary, following the amount parents give their children, almost, general income. Since the mid-1980s, after-tax income for a typical household has increased by 280 percent. Children’s pocket money has also increased 240 percent.

The number of hours parents have to work to get together for the children’s pocket money has fallen from 2.3 to 2.1 hours.

At the same time, the percentage of children who receive regular monthly allowance decreased over the past 10 years. Today, says 95 percent of children that they get money in addition to monthly allowance. Yet, more and more 12-year-olds that they find it difficult to make ends meet. The trend worries Swedbank’s Private Economist Arturo Arques.

Even if the child receives a regular monthly allowance will not he take responsibility for it to be enough, almost everyone gets more money anyway.

– It is the responsibility of adults to teach children to manage money. We must stop pengacurla our children, says Arturo Arques.

Month-up grant for 16-year-olds has declined in real terms since the 80s. Although there are fewer in the group now says it is difficult to make ends meet. One explanation may be that more people say they get extra cash when needed.

– But it also seems that teenagers today have become better at conserving their money, says Arturo Arques.