Parents need to educate their children about money.
The Journal of Accountancy reported, 08/09/2012, the results of a survey conducted for the AICPA.
Some of the findings were:
30% of parents never talk to their children about money or have had only one talk with their children about money.
67% strongly agreed that they knew enough about personal finance to teach their children about personal finance.
Some tips from the National Financial Literacy Commissions include:
Start early by discussing that delayed gratification is the basis for budgeting and savings goals.
Discuss things they are interested in.
Frequent discussions about good financial habits should include how they relate to current and future benefits (needs).
Your actions should reinforce good financial behavior.
There is a lot of evidence that children are not getting introduced to financial related matters early enough. Some schools are starting to include these topics. These efforts need to be expanded. Parents should assume the responsibility now and not wait for the schools to provide these topics. Parent should also request/demand that the schools include financial educations.
These topics should include behavioral finance. This is an increasing volume of studies showing that some of our instincts are detrimental to our financial well being.