Are your kids worried about money?

Has the pandemic caused you to worry more than usual about your finances? Well, you’re not alone…
With 47% of respondents to a global survey stating they are less well-off now compared to before the pandemic and 24% worried about job security, it’s clear that the virus is continuing to wreak havoc on our financial – and mental health.
The kids are… not alright

And it’s not just adults who are feeling the pressure – our kids are picking up on it too. According to a monthly study of children’s mental health symptoms during the pandemic, children from poorer households were more likely to be unhappy or worried, or show behaviour such as clinginess or restlessness, between March and October 2020 when compared with other children.

How can I support my child?
Tempting as it is to try and protect children from your money worries, a keyway of allaying their fears is to actually get them involved with the household finances – after all, we tend to fear what we don’t understand. Research shows that children who are exposed to conversations about money and financial responsibility are more confident and tend to do better with money as adults³. So, here are some top tips to get your kids on the path to financial success.

Our top tips:

• Regular pocket money – whether it’s £1 or £10 per week, giving children their own money to manage can help foster positive conversations about budgeting, saving and spending
• Reward hard work – offering cash in exchange for household chores is an excellent way to teach children the value of money, i.e., it is something to be earned through work
• Involve them in household spending decisions – whether you’re doing the weekly grocery shop or looking for a new broadband deal, challenge the kids to find better deals! As an incentive, you could even offer them a percentage of whatever savings they make
• Play a board game! – there are plenty of board games that can help kids learn about key financial concepts in a fun way. From Payday, which introduces the concepts of budgeting and living expenses, to Monopoly, which helps kids learn about financial negotiation and dealing with taxes, there are plenty of educational games out there
• Think out loud – talking through any money-related decisions with your children will help them learn by example. Did you just choose a supermarket-own washing up liquid instead of a well-known brand on the weekly shop? Tell them why!

And how can we support you?
Our advisers understand how thinly parents are stretched now. That’s where we come in. Let us shoulder some of the burden so you can concentrate on looking after your family. We can help you explore the available options to get your finances back on track so you – and the kids – can feel positive.

Key takeaways

• Many UK adults are concerned about their finances and job security
• Recent studies show that our children are picking up on our money worries during lockdown
• Teaching kids about money and getting them involved in the household finances is a key way of addressing their concerns
• Ways of doing this include paying them for household chores, involving them in household spending decisions and even playing boardgames like Payday or Monopoly
• We understand how stressed many parents are at the moment, so let us help you with your finances so you can concentrate on looking after your family.