Money can't buy me love

Contrary to the popular belief that kids would rather play with their latest gadget than talk with the adults, new research from American Express Insurance Services suggests that what kids really want is more time from their mum and dad. Nearly two thirds (64%) of children would make more time to spend at home with their family when they grow up, as a result of experiences that they have seen their parents face.

The latest findings question why parents are burning the candle at both ends, (in some cases taking a second job or working extra hours) in order to provide the things they think their children want, when all their kids want is time with them. Almost twice the number of kids who have seen their parents stressed and bad tempered at home, would choose to have more quality family time with their own families when they grow up than have no financial worries at all.

Results from American Express Insurance Services shows that kids are recognising that their parents have an unhealthy work life balance; 93 per cent of children believe their parents are too stressed and consequently 87 per cent of them would live their lives differently when they grow up, choosing not to follow in their parents' footsteps.

The insurer, which provides insurance for busy lives, asked a GB representative sample of 1000 children aged between eight and 15 years old, what causes their parents the most stress, and as a result, what they would do differently when they grow up. The findings indicate that money cannot buy their love; instead, kids are more interested in quality family time.

More than nine in ten kids think that their parents are too stressed and need to loosen up and have more fun (93%)

With households facing hikes to their monthly outgoings, a quarter of kids believe that primary cause of their parents' stress is the financial burden of paying the bills (25%).

The answer is simple according to today's kids; when they grow up, one in five kids would have a less stressful and hardworking job (20%) with an improved work life balance, and one in twenty would live in a smaller house with smaller bills (5%).

Parents are not leaving their work in the office; one in five kids with both parents working think their parents' job causes them to be bad tempered at home (20%).

Ten per cent more twelve year olds than any other age group think that other family members cause more stress at home than their parents' jobs (17% v 7%).

Over eight in ten of today's kids plan to live their lives differently to their parents' when they grow up (87%).

Chris Rolland, Head of American Express Insurance Services commented: "Families are under an increasing financial burden and it seems that kids are wising up to the pressures their parents are facing; a quarter of kids think that the pressure of paying the bills is making their parents stressed, and almost two thirds of them wish they had more time from their mum and dad. Our research indicates that UK parents are struggling to re-focus their work life balance and keep their kids happy.

"To a growing number of working Britons, it seems there are never enough hours in the day, and as work life begins to invade home life we understand that family time is more precious than ever. American Express is more than just a card; we can take the hassle out of endless browsing for financial safeguards, leaving customers with a peace of mind and more time to spend with their families."