Parents don't realise kids' cash concerns

The number of children worrying about money is far greater than parents realise, with children also much more aware of their parents' own money worries than parents are of their children's.
 
Nearly nine in ten (86%) children aged eight to fifteen say that their parents worry about money, an accurate reflection of the 92% of parents who admit to being concerned about their finances. 
 
However, the number of parents who appreciate the money worries of their children is much lower. While six in ten children (58%) admit to worrying about money themselves, just over a third of parents (36%) think this affects their child.
 
The awareness gap that exists within families highlights the fact that children are continuing to shoulder the money worries of their parents. There is, however, an appetite from children to learn more about finance and 78% of parents say that they would feel confident in teaching their children about money.
 
More children (59%) said that they would prefer to learn about finance form their parents than from any other source (21% teachers, 7% internet), with savings (63%) topping the list of things that they would like to learn about, followed by bank accounts (57%) and credit cards (20%).
 
Richard Fearon, Head of Halifax Savings comments, "It's encouraging that that so many parents feel confident in teaching their children about finance. As parents, we try and protect our children from the things that worry us but sometimes it can be more beneficial to talk through financial concerns as a way to help children better understand money and put things into perspective.   
 
"We know that children are very aware of the behaviour of people around them and by having discussions about money from an early age children will be much better placed to know how to manage their money as they grow up."
 
Borrowing from babes
 
Part of Halifax's annual Pocket Money Survey, the research also revealed that parents are more likely to borrow money and lend money than their children
 
A third (30%) of parents borrow money from other people and almost one in four (37%) lend other people money. This is compared to 18% of children that borrow money and 29% who lend money to others.
 
And, while almost a third of children (28%) said that they lend their parents money, only one in ten (8%) parents admit to borrowing money from their children.
 
Dads are twice as likely to borrow from their children as mums (10% and 5%), with parents in London (15%) and Scotland (14%) the most likely to admit to being lent money by their children
 
Richard Fearon, added: "There is a significant gap between perceptions of parents and children when asked about borrowing money. While there may be another explanation as to why parents and children recall this differently, there is clearly a real possibility that more parents are borrowing money from their children than are willing to admit."
 
Effects of Age
 
The older children are, the more likely they are to worry about money. 54% of eight year olds ‘never' worry about money, with this figure dropping to 43% by the time children are 11. Once children reach the age of 12, just less than a third (31%) never worry about money, while at 15 years old only a quarter only (26%) attain to never worrying about money.
 
Geographical differences
 
Parents in the North East and Yorkshire are the least likely to think that their children are worrying about money (32%). However, it is children in Wales that are actually least likely to worry about money (47%).
 
Parents in London are most likely to think that their children worry about money (49%), with 11% thinking that their children worry about money all the time. While this is an accurate reflection in terms of location, at 72%, children in the capital are much more likely to worry about money that their parents think.