School summer holidays can be one of the most expensive times of the year for parents, writes thrifty living columnist Sheena Grant.

School summer holidays can be one of the most expensive times of the year for parents.

Luckily, this year, with the weather so good, it’s easier than usual to have a day out for little or even no cost, with trips to the beach, forest, picnics and camp outs all brilliant ideas for spending some quality, thrifty time with the children.

Evidence from a study of four to 14-year-olds’ spending habits also reveals it might be a good idea to keep the pocket money habit up through the summer as a weekly allowance appears to be a great way of instilling positive money habits early on.

Pocket money tracking app RoosterMoney’s ‘Pocket Money Index’ revealed children are set to earn £54 from parents this summer and gives a valuable insight into kids’ savings habits, as they’re now saving 30.3% of their allowance.

The RoosterMoney study reveals the average weekly allowance is £4.14 (£54 over the summer) and shows the most lucrative chores include mowing the lawn (but perhaps not this summer), £2.53; washing the car, £1.91; gardening, £1.85; mopping the floor, £1.33; cleaning windows, £1.24; putting the vacuum round, 91p; washing the dishes, 90p; cleaning the bathroom, 86p; tidying bedroom, 82p and dusting, 75p. Average weekly pocket money allowance goes from £2.75 for four-year-olds up to a generous £6.42 for 14-year-olds.

RoosterMoney says children are earning some healthy sums and the good news is that they’re saving an impressive 30.3% of it. It’s just as well, as they have some ambitious goals, with the average value of the most popular items they’re saving for standing at £127.

The five most popular are Lego, a mobile phone, holiday money, Nintendo Switch and Xbox.

Perhaps the relative expense of modern must-haves for children gives a clue as to why some seem to be earning quite well from their parents. But maybe it’s something else too: the demise of the Saturday job. Apparently, the number of permits issued to employers applying for a licence to hire under 16s fell by 20% between 2012 and 2016. It’s a shame. Children might value their earnings even more if they came from somewhere other than the bank of mum and dad.