- 72 per cent of parents say their children understand the importance of saving money to plan for the future
- Almost a third (32 per cent) of parents wish they had been taught about saving by their parents
- 41 per cent of money given to children is put into savings
New research by Santander1 reveals parents believe children understand the value of money on average at ten-years-old. This is the age they stop believing money is infinite, that it must be earned, and it is important to save.
One in fourteen (seven per cent) parents believe their precocious children grasped the concept of money by school age (five years old), however 18 per cent believe the true value of money is only grasped as a teenager or older.
Today’s generation of children are being brought up in a culture of saving that parents say they never had. Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of parents say their children, understand the importance of saving money.
When children were asked about saving more than eight in 10 (84 per cent) highlighted they like to put money away for the future. The research also shows boys are more committed (88 per cent) to saving than girls (80 per cent). On average, children save 41 per cent of the money that they get.
The study also reveals parental guidance on savings is improving across the generations. While more than a quarter (26 per cent) of parents weren’t taught the value of financial planning by their parents when they were young, just 13 per cent of the current parents aren’t teaching this to their children. Almost a third (32 per cent) of UK parents admit they wish their parents had taught them the importance of saving when they were young, leading them to be more conscious about educating their own offspring.
However, there seems to be little expectation among parents that schools should be responsible for financial education. The majority (85 per cent) of parents across the UK believe they have responsibility for teaching their children about the importance of saving, just 10 per cent believe this responsibility sits with schools and teachers.
To help their own children plan for the future, parents believe that the top financial lessons their children need to learn is the importance of saving (44 per cent), followed by spending sensibly (39 per cent) and then how to budget (38 per cent).
Hetal Parmar, Head of Savings at Santander, said: “Saving and budgeting are important life skills so it’s encouraging that so many parents take this seriously. At Santander we aim to help people achieve their savings goals in a number of ways. Our Regular eSaver offers up to five per cent interest rate to reward a regular savings habit, our Investment Hub makes investments more accessible and our ‘savings goals’ feature within online banking is there to help customers plan for the future. For youngsters we also have the 1I2I3 Mini account paying three per cent interest on balances of £300 - £2,000 and our Junior ISA giving returns of up to three per cent.”
When children were asked why they like to save money, almost half (47 per cent) said they wanted to use it to buy sweets or entertainment. Children are also motivated by saving for days out (40 per cent) and holiday spending money (39 per cent). Children also save to buy presents for their family (34 per cent) and for university (20 per cent).
For more information on Santander’s savings products please visit: www.santander.co.uk/savings
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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
- Research conduct by Opinium among 502 parents and children (5-15) between 21st and 26th March 2018
Santander UK is a financial services provider in the UK that offers a wide range of personal and commercial financial products and services. It has brought real competition to the UK, through its innovative products for retail customers and relationship banking model for UK SMEs. At 31 December 2017, the bank serves around 14 million active customers with c19,500 employees and operates through 806 branches (which includes 61 university branches) and 64 regional Corporate Business Centres. Santander UK is subject to the full supervision of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) in the UK. Santander UK plc customers are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) in the UK.
About Us
Banco Santander (SAN SM, STD US, BNC LN) is a leading retail and commercial bank, founded in 1857 and headquartered in Spain. It has a meaningful market share in 10 core countries in Europe and the Americas, and is the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization. At the end of 2017, Banco Santander had EUR 986 billion in customer funds (deposits and mutual funds), 133 million customers, 13,700 branches and 200,000 employees. Banco Santander made attributable profit of EUR 6,619 million in 2017, an increase of 7% compared to the previous year.
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