‘Sacrifice your civility and make a start': how to talk to teenagers about money
-
Loading... - Adriana Lopez
- 03 Aug 2022
- 98 Views
- 0 Like
- 0 Comment
As any parent of teens will know, talking to them isn’t easy at the best of times. And when those conversations are about a topic as potentially complex as money, scaling Mt Everest might feel like an easier proposition.
But when it comes to arming your teen with some basic money smarts before they’re hit with a barrage of adult financial decisions, the buck stops with you. Financial literacy isn’t explicitly taught under the national curriculum, so it’s not a box you can rely on school to tick.
The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment suggested that the financial literacy of teens fell by 15 points between 2012 and 2018. And girls, in particular, need our help – research commissioned by the Financial Basics Foundation in March of 2022 found that teenage girls are less confident than boys when it comes to financial knowledge.
Given that the gender pay gap stands at 13.8%, the gender retirement gap stands at 23.4% and ABS data indicate that women are more than twice as likely as men to be victims of financial abuse, preparing your teenage daughter for the world of money is essential.
Timing is everything
The current state of the economy – with the cost of almost everything increasing – presents a great opportunity for money conversations. With $10 lettuces trending, petrol pushing $2.50 a litre and stable electricity supplies threatened due to escalating prices, it’s possible that money has never been more topical in your teen’s short lifetime so far.
But it’s also a potentially fraught conversation. Our teenage girls are facing a mental health crisis –the Bureau of Statistics’ latest National Health Survey found that 32.7% of girls aged 15 to 24 suffer from a mental health condition. So how do you talk to teenage girls about money, without triggering despair about facing a world of rising debt, rising interest rates, rising prices and unaffordable housing?
When it comes to discussing money with teens, try the TALKS acronym: Tackle your own money taboos; Acknowledge your shortcomings; Lift examples from real life; Keep the conversation going and Stay positive.
Tackle your own money taboos
If you find it hard to talk to about money, it’s not entirely your fault. For generations, western culture has taught us that discussing money isn’t polite.
But that’s not a stigma you want to pass on to your children, as talking about money openly is an important way of building knowledge and developing understanding. So, no matter how uncomfortable you might find it, sacrifice your civility and make a start. Read More...
