Santander UK has found that one in five parents (20%) think social media can do a better job teaching their kids about money than they can.
While most parents want to teach their kids about money, 42% think they do not know enough to help them.
A quarter of parents would like official guidance to help them guide their children.
Millions of parents across the UK (20%) believe that social media might be better suited to teach their kids about money than they are, according to research from Santander UK1.
According to Ofcom2, the age at which children become present on social media is falling – so it’s no wonder this idea is catching on. But there are risks with leaving kids’ financial education to social media. Even older children (12-17 years) struggle to spot when their favourite online personalities are doing a promoted (paid for) post (21%) and can’t spot when they are interacting with a fake profile (24%). This could leave teens learning the wrong lessons or even vulnerable to scams.
While the vast majority of parents (95%) agree they should have a role in teaching their kids about money, many feel totally unprepared. In fact, 42% of parents confess they don’t know enough about money management themselves to guide their kids. Globally, only one in three adults are financially literate3 and adults in England, in particular, rank among the least financial savvy in the developed world, according to UCL research4.
Parents who have difficulties discussing money with their children, say they would find various forms of help useful. A quarter (24%) say official guidance from schools or the government about how to approach financial themes, and an online community to provide them with support and advice would help. A similar number (23%) said they would like advice from their bank about how to explain financial topics.
Santander is committed to furthering financial education and since 2020 the bank has been working with educational publisher Twinkl to deliver The Numbers Game – free, curriculum-friendly learning materials created by teachers, providing essential numeracy and financial education to help build money confidence in both primary and secondary schools. Santander and Twinkl want financial education to reach statutory status in England’s primary school curriculum.
Mark Weston, Director of Financial Support at Santander UK, said: “Teaching our kids about personal finance can be an uphill battle at the best of times but especially when we lack confidence in our own money management skills.
“There are trustworthy influencers and online resources to help children grapple with financial education, but there are obvious risks without a parent to help guide them. Picking up money habits from social media with no parental involvement could leave young people learning poor financial habits or even open to scams.
“Financial education is a key priority for Santander. We want parents and teachers to have the confidence to equip children with the knowledge and understanding to help them manage their finances in the future. If parents are well-prepared to start teaching their kids the basics, it helps give teachers a springboard to take financial education to the next level at school.”
Santander has partnered with Beth Turbutt-Rodger, founder of Budgeting Mum UK, to help empower parents to get involved with teaching their kids about money and finances.
Beth Turbutt-Rodger, Founder of Budgeting Mum UK, said: “I understand how overwhelming it can be for parents to teach their children about money, especially if they feel they lack a solid understanding of personal finance themselves. Many of us leave home without understanding how to pay household bills, how credit cards work, or even what a mortgage is.
“It’s time to empower parents with the knowledge that you don’t need to be a financial expert to impart fundamental money management skills to your children. To break down the taboo around money, we need to start talking about it openly. Everyday money management skills are a great place to start in preparing your children for their financial future. These conversations can bridge the gap between what they learn in their maths lessons at school and how these concepts apply to everyday life.”
- Ends –
The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.
Notes to Editors:
Opinium Research conducted research between 17th May to 21st May 2024, among a nationally representative panel of 4,000 UK adults of which 1,085 are parents of children.
Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report, Ofcom, April 2024
England has one of the lowest levels of financial literacy, UCL
Since 2020, Santander has worked with Twinkl to deliver The Numbers Game – free which helps children and young adults develop key number and money confidence, and has been used by more than 100,000 educators in 8,300 schools and by over 2.5 million children and young people across the UK since 2022.