Image: Satu Krautsuk / Yle

Nordic banking group Danske Bank surveyed parents across Finland, asking whether they paid their kids allowances, and if they did, how much.

Nearly 80 percent of parents in Finland said they regularly pay their 7-12 year-old children a weekly allowance. On average, parents paid them about 5 euros per week, according to the survey.

The majority of the parents, more than half, said they viewed their kids' allowances as a form of payment in exchange for completed work.

Eighty percent of Finnish allowances are doled out in cash, while 20 percent of parents said they preferred to pay their underage employees electronically.

The most common tasks children in Finnish homes are charged with carrying out include: cleaning of their own bedrooms and doing other household chores like tidying the house and taking out the trash.

Allowance a learning opportunity

Economist Nina Nordlund, who's writing a book about how kids spend their money, said that weekly allowances were one of the best tools that parents have to teach financial skills to children. She said it is a good idea to begin paying allowances as kids begin to develop their math skills, as they begin going to school.

Nordlund also suggested parents could encourage kids to divide their allowances into three parts; one for saving, another for pocket money and the third put towards charity.

"By paying allowances, parents can teach the child about skills like long-term savings, but also that consumption is about making choices. It's good to learn at an early age that there are financial limits in a world that's filled with opportunities," Nordlund said.

Three out of four kids in the 7-12 age group in Finland have their own bank accounts, the survey found, with 14 percent of those holding bank cards.

Approximately 1,000 parents of kids between the ages of 7-12 in Finland were queried for the survey. Dankse Bank also carried out similar surveys in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.