T. Rowe Price's 2016 Parents, Kids & Money Survey found that parents’ reluctance to discuss money with their kids has not yet translated to a reluctance to spend it on them. Nearly half of parents (46%) have gone into debt to cover something their kids want and most worry about spoiling their kids (58%). Yet less than half (44%) of parents take advantage of the opportunity to discuss money with their kids most of the time.
“Parents would be better served investing the time to discuss money matters with their kids rather than investing their money in more stuff,” says Stuart Ritter, CFP®, a senior financial planner at T. Rowe Price.
T. Rowe Price encourages parents to invest in their kids’ futures by talking with them about money matters weekly. The survey found that parents who discuss financial topics with their kids at least once a week are nearly twice as likely to have kids who say they are smart about money (68% vs. 36%). To help, T. Rowe Price created MoneyConfidentKids.com, which provides free online games for kids, tips for parents focused on financial concepts such as goal setting, spending versus saving, inflation, asset allocation, and investment diversification, as well as lessons for educators.