{"id":611678,"date":"2026-09-01T23:34:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T23:34:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/611678\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T23:34:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T23:34:11","slug":"talk-to-your-children-about-money-even-if-youre-stressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/611678\/","title":{"rendered":"Talk to your children about money. Even if you\u2019re stressed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Anastasiya Yunusova\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an important tip for increasing the financial comprehension of our children: Talk to them regularly about money at a young age, even if we feel stressed about employment, debt and whatever else is weighing upon us.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one of the key takeaways from a survey released this week by Vanguard Canada. It found that parents who talk to their children about financial issues pass along a deeper understanding of concepts such as using credit cards and maintaining bank accounts.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, parents who clam up about financial matters in a misguided attempt to shield their children from stress, risk passing along a double whammy of challenges to their offspring.<\/p>\n

Their children are less likely to understand basic financial concepts at a young age, when it is important to introduce those concepts. Their children are also five times more likely to feel anxious about financial matters themselves \u2013 given that children can form their relationship to financial matters based on what they witness or overhear at home.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot talking about money is actually not helping,\u201d Sal D\u2019Angelo, who currently leads Vanguard\u2019s product and marketing teams, told me during an interview last week. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s not something we expected to see. And it is really relevant for the times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The survey, conducted by Angus Reid in March, was based on online responses from a total of 1,014 Canadian parents of children under the age of 18. It was designed to get a better sense of how money issues are being discussed at home.<\/p>\n

Among those who self-identified as financially stressed, 68 per cent said they feel pressure to hide their worries from their children \u2013 either because they believe their children are too young to understand or they don\u2019t want to trouble them.<\/p>\n

But 70 per cent of these children are overhearing stressful conversations about money matters anyway, contributing to their anxiety. And no, financial stress doesn\u2019t necessarily relate to low income, high debts or unemployment.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinancial stress can hit anyone,\u201d Mr. D\u2019Angelo said. \u201cEven people with more significant means may have their own financial stress. Their business could be under pressure or tariffs could be impacting them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Talking to our children about financial matters, though, may deliver significant benefits. <\/p>\n

For example, 44 per cent of children with parents who discuss financial matters regularly understand the concept of credit, according to Vanguard. That number drops to just 15 per cent for children of parents who stay quiet about these matters.<\/p>\n

The age at which we introduce these concepts to our children is also important.<\/p>\n

Financial curiosity peaks between the ages of 10 and 14, according to Vanguard. Yet, 88 per cent of parents don\u2019t begin meaningful conversations about financial concepts until 15 and beyond, which gives these children a slower start and puts them at a disadvantage relative to peers.<\/p>\n

So, having meaningful conversations about money matters is the obvious solution to these challenges. According to the survey, 86 per cent of participants said that parents should take the lead in teaching kids about money.<\/p>\n

But parents believe that schools can offer an important line of support, too, particularly for children from households where financial concepts are not being discussed.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Vanguard introduced its MyClassroom Economy digital program in Canada last year, after more than a decade of use in the United States. It is available \u2013 for free \u2013 as a teaching resource for all grades, giving students hands-on experience with concepts such as salaries, rent and spending decisions.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t replace the need for regular conversations about financial matters at home. But as an add-on, it\u2019s designed to bridge a gap for some children.<\/p>\n

Where and when did you pick up your initial knowledge about financial matters? Let me know at dberman@globeandmail.com<\/a>. I\u2019m on vacation this week but back after Labour Day.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to the On Money newsletter<\/p>\n

Are you reading this newsletter on the web or did someone forward the e-mail version to you? If so, you can sign up for On Money here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

David Berman\u2019s personal finance reading list: school edition<\/p>\n

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Parents: Your RESP is a potential gold mine<\/a><\/p>\n

One way to think about the benefits of making regular contributions to your child\u2019s Registered Education Savings Plan: With the right approach, you can count on doubling your money. <\/p>\n

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There is a case in favour<\/a> of the Osprey Nebula 32 Daypack as the best school backpack (or many other uses, for that matter). It\u2019s not cheap. But look at that: It\u2019s now 25-per-cent off at Mountain Equipment Company<\/a>, until Sept. 7.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Anastasiya Yunusova\/iStockPhoto \/ Getty Images Here\u2019s an important tip for increasing the financial…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":611679,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[72,176,47210,61,60,7784,47207,174,47213,47208,47211,47212,175,47209],"class_list":["post-611678","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-business","tag-finance","tag-high-interest-saving","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-newsletter","tag-onmoneynewsletter","tag-personal-finance","tag-personal-finance-advice-canada","tag-personal-finance-canada","tag-personal-finance-newsletter","tag-personal-finance-planning","tag-personalfinance","tag-saving-strategy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611678","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=611678"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/611678\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/611679"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=611678"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=611678"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=611678"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}