Pocket money for a 6 year old in Ireland
At six the jobs get a little longer and the money becomes something they can plan with.
A 6 year old in Ireland earns
€3.72an hour
About €6.51 a week if they do 1¾ hours of paid jobs. That's 26.3% of the minimum wage in Ireland.
Worked out from Workplace Relations Commission — National Minimum Wage, rates from 1 January 2026.
The rate at every age in Ireland.
Pocket Wage is a straight line, one step every birthday, until it meets the real minimum wage. Here's the whole ladder in Ireland.
- Pocket wage, paid by you
- Real minimum wage, paid by a boss
At 16, the legal minimum in Ireland is €9.91 an hour. Pocket Wage draws a straight line from there back to zero, and a kid's age picks the spot on it.
What a 6 year old can do, and what it pays.
Every paid job has a standard time: how long it should take, not how long it did. Dawdle and you earn less a minute. Get good at it and you earn more. There's no timer to game and no price to haggle.
Six year olds can hold a job that has steps: set the whole table, not just carry the forks. Water the plants on the deck. Sort the recycling. Ten-minute jobs are now realistic, and a six year old will happily race the standard time once they understand that finishing faster does not cut the pay.
This is also the age to introduce the idea of saving up. Not a savings rate or a rule, just a thing they want that costs three paydays, and the discovery that it arrives if they wait.
The payslip at 6
Jobs done and what they paid, plus a running balance. Six year olds like watching the balance climb toward something.
The Jobs Board at age 6, €3.72 an hour
| Job | Standard time | Pays |
|---|---|---|
| Set the whole table | 10 min | €0.62 |
| Water the plants | 10 min | €0.62 |
| Sort the recycling | 10 min | €0.62 |
| Make your bed properly | 5 min | €0.31 |
Example jobs and times. Family Duties, like clearing your own plate, are unpaid: belonging isn't billable.
How junior wages work in Ireland.
Ireland's national minimum wage is set by the government each January on the advice of the Low Pay Commission. Workers under 18 are entitled to 70% of the adult rate, 18 year olds to 80%, and 19 year olds to 90%, with the full rate at 20.
Pocket Wage anchors on the under-18 rate at sixteen and draws a straight line back to zero. From sixteen the site shows the real statutory rates. When the rate changes each January, every age on this site moves with it.
Children can do light work from 14 during school holidays and from 15 in term time, with limits on hours. The under-18 minimum wage applies to any employed young person.
Source: Workplace Relations Commission — National Minimum Wage, rates from 1 January 2026.
Questions parents ask about 6 year olds.
What should a six year old spend pocket money on?
Whatever they like, within the family's rules. The wage is theirs because they earned it. Talk about choices; do not veto them, or the money stops feeling earned.
Should pocket money be tied to chores at six?
Some of it. Family Duties, like clearing their plate, are unpaid because belonging is not billable. The Jobs Board is paid because it is work someone else would otherwise do.
How much is a ten-minute job worth?
One sixth of the hourly rate, every time. Standard-time pricing means the job pays for the time it should take, so a fast six year old earns more per minute, not less.
What is the minimum wage for a 16 year old in Ireland?
70% of the adult national minimum wage, the rate for anyone under 18. It is shown on our 16 year old page from the official source, and it is the anchor for every younger age here.
Every birthday is a pay rise.
The app runs the whole thing: the Jobs Board, the standard times, a sacred weekly payday with a payslip, and Pay-Rise Day on every birthday. No cards, no stored money. The parent is the bank.