Parents value teaching kids about money

31/10/2011

With UK families having to tighten their purse strings more than ever, new research has revealed that teaching the nation’s youngsters the value of money is considered one of the most important lessons a child can learn.

With the cost of living continuing to rise, UK parents are determined to ensure our kids are taught a valuable lesson early in life.

Research by Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks reveals that almost half of parents (48%) believe teaching children about the value of money is in the top three most important values they can impart. It follows morals (75%) and good manners (74%).

Learning important financial lessons starts at home with 93% of parents saying they teach their kids about finances. The research also found that nine times more primary school children (18%) learn about money from their teacher than their parents (2%) ever did.

In addition almost one in five (18%) of parents revealed that no one had ever taught them about money. Today’s figure has halved with just 9% of primary school children saying no one is teaching them about money.

Parents also believe other important lessons to teach kids include being a good friend (22%), road safety (21%), a strong work ethic (19%) and how to swim (11%).

Steve Reid, Retail Director for Clydesdale Bank, said: “At the Bank, we understand the importance of children receiving financial education from a young age. Financial education is an important part of growing up and it is encouraging that so many primary school children are already learning about the value of money both at school and at home. Hopefully this will increase in time as financial education becomes more accessible.”