More than a third of 11 to 16-year-olds worry regularly about their families' finances but parents are often unaware of their children's concerns.
Although 66 per cent of British parents believe they shelter their children from money worries, it seems many of us may be kidding themselves about their ability to keep things from their alert offspring. One in eight secondary school-aged children have overheard their parents arguing about money and one in six have 'accidentally' seen their parents' bank statements, according to new research from VoucherCodes.co.uk.
The survey also revealed that parents need to be more careful about the language they use when out shopping, as 49 per cent of the children questioned revealed that hearing their parents say 'we can't afford it' is one of the main reasons they think their family has financial issues.
"Many of us experience times where budgets have to stretch a little further than usual but it's clear from the report that, despite our attempts to shelter our kids, we'd be better off allaying our children's fears by offering them an age-appropriate level of information," says mum of two Anita Naik, consumer editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk.
"Rather than avoid the subject of money altogether, try to talk about money in a practical, positive way so that kids don't feel that it is a taboo or scary subject. For instance, if money is tight, talk about the benefits of saving and budgeting, rather than complaining about how much everything costs."
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