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Grown-up concerns: a third of children worry about money

Cherry Reynard
Written By:
Cherry Reynard
Posted:
Updated:
13/07/2015

It seems that worrying about money is infectious – children are catching it from their parents, according to new research from Halifax.

Despite an improvement in the economic situation of the country over the past couple of years, a third of children (31%) admit they have worried about money, while a large number of children are aware of money worries in the household, according to the annual Halifax pocket money survey.

Nine out of 10 parents (89%) admit to worrying about money, with most not hiding it from their children: almost three quarters of children (73%), say that they are aware of their parents’ concerns.

Attitudes to money also filter down to offspring. Almost one third (29%) of parents admit to borrowing money from someone they know at some point; one in six (16%) children claims that they have had to do the same. Worryingly, one in 10 (11%) eight to 11 year olds say they have borrowed money.

A quarter of children (25%) have also lent money out, with around a third (30%) of these saying the money was lent to their own parents, a slight (2%) increase from the previous year.

Financial education is now being taught in schools, but Halifax points out that a year into the new curriculum, there has yet to be a discernable change in young people’s understanding of financial matters. Three in five children (60%) say that they would prefer to learn about money from their parents, while one in five (20%) thought school was the best place for this.

Giles Martin, head of Halifax Savings, said: “Parents need to be very aware just how much of an impact their own feelings about money can have on their children’s views and habits. While finance is now being taught in schools, children don’t want their mum and dad to take a back seat.

“Talking about money at home can be a great way for children to start building an understanding of the importance of good money management. Pocket money can be a great tool for parents to teach their children the basic life skills of earning, and saving money.”