Why don’t We Teach Kids to Manage Money?
Teenagers tend to be stingy with praise when it comes to their parents.
Still, mom and dad can take credit for showing 70 percent of adolescents how to do their laundry; 52 percent of parents teach their kids to drive.
But fewer than half of parents — 49 percent — teach their kids to manage a budget, according to the Charles Schwab 2008 Parents & Money Survey Findings.
That might be why 71 percent of parents expect their kids will come back home to live after they finish college — and why 20 percent wouldn’t dream of asking adult children to pony up for rent.
But it’s important to insist that young people pay their own freight — and that parents prepare their teens for the financial responsibilities they will face as adults.
Indeed, 60 percent of moms and dads wish their own parents had taught them about investing when they were teens. Half had to start from scratch when it came to learning how to plan for retirement.
As it turned out, they had to be quick studies, developing such skills as taking out a mortgage and paying monthly bills in young adulthood. According to the survey, 77 percent of parents were on their own financially by age 21 — and 50 percent began to support themselves between the ages of 16-18.
So why are parents so hesitant to show teens the ropes?
The survey says 67 percent believe money management is not a top priority for their sons and daughters. But 60 percent of teens said that learning how to handle their finances is deeply important to them.
Besides, where in the parenting job description does it say we should only talk to our kids about the topics they choose? Who’s the boss, applesauce? Mom and dad, that’s who.
So, where to begin?
First, set a good example by spending and investing responsibly.
Cash in on opportunities such as shopping for school clothes and planning a family vacation. Get your teen involved in making choices that will help to balance the budget.
Only 33 percent of teens currently hold paying jobs. But studies show that kids who work part time are far more likely to save regularly, with 49 percent building nest eggs, compared to 35 percent of nonworking teens.
Nearly one in three young people — 30 percent — don’t have bank accounts of any kind. Kids who set up accounts for checking and savings and gain experience managing them are ahead of the game in becoming financially savvy grown-ups.
In some ways, managing money is like riding a bicycle. After the training wheels come off, you’ve acquired a lifelong skill.
Every once in a while, kids fall off their bikes. The same thing is bound to happen with their financial lives. (…)
Source: Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ
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