Welsh Parents Put Kids As Young As FIVE To Work & Learn The Value Of Money

• One in five parents task children between five and seven with household chores to teach them financial responsibility
• One in 10 (11%) encourage their child to start saving before they turn five
• Nearly two in five parents (38%) say their children need to learn to be self-sufficient with their finances, yet the average age they believe they will become fully independent is 21

Parents are putting their children as young as five to work around the house in order to teach them the value of money, new research reveals.

The UK’s leading savings website, VoucherCodes.co.uk, commissioned a study of 2,000 UK parents^[1] to discover how they tackle money matters with their kids. It finds that over a third (36%) encourage their five to ten-year-olds to start saving, while 11% even do this before their child’s fifth birthday.

While most parents (28%) begin tasking their children with chores around the house between the ages of eight and ten, a fifth (20%) set kids as young as five to work washing dishes and hoovering to earn their keep.

Teaching their offspring to be financially responsible is something 52% of parents say is important, and almost two in five (38%) want their children to learn to be self-sufficient with their cash. However, despite their best efforts, parents believe that children won’t be financially independent until they reach the age of 21.

According to the research, the reason for this could lie in parents picking up the bill for their kids’ expenditure even after they have turned 18. Driving lessons (55%) and university fees (47%) are the expenses parents with adult children are most likely to pay for. The bank of mum and dad still also covers the cost of holidays for many over 18s – with one in five admitting they’re happy to pick up this expense for their kids. What’s more, a whopping 43% will even pay for their food shop every week and over a quarter pay their rent (26%).

The top items parents are happy to pick up the bill for even if their child is over 18 years old include:

Over two thirds of parents (68%) believe children earning their own money is the biggest sign of financial independence and more than half (52%) believe having their own bank account marks the occasion. Interestingly, the average age at which parents think their children should open an account is 10, suggesting today’s children are under high pressure to be financially savvy at a young age.

The research also suggests that dads might have a more relaxed approach to educating their kids about money. Just under two in five (39%) want their children to grow up in a household that discusses the importance of financial responsibility, compared to almost half of mums (47%). Three-quarters of parents, however, are not happy to tell their kids their salary and only 17% say their children know how much they earn.  

Anita Naik, Lifestyle Editor at VoucherCodes.co.uk, commented: “Teaching children about money from an early age can be crucial to setting them up for a financially responsible life, and our research shows the majority of parents agree.

“What’s interesting is that some families start this conversation from a very young age – in some cases with kids as young as five. Whether that’s asking them to do the dishes or wash the car, it’s clear that many children are learning the value of money early which can have really positive impacts later in life when it comes to budgeting and managing their spending.

“We know it’s not always easy to talk about money matters, so if you are unsure how to go about this with your own kids, we’ve put together a handy blog post with tips and guidance on how you can do so.”

For further information on how to talk to your children about the importance of money visit:https://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/blog/how-to-talk-to-children-about-money-27286.html