Children picking up on parents’ money worries

ONE in three children as young as eight worries about money, a report has found.

When asked: “Do you ever worry about money?”, 33% of youngsters aged between eight and 15 said they did - and boys appear more likely to pick up on their parents’ financial concerns than girls - Halifax found.

Despite boys receiving more weekly pocket money than girls on average, at £6.93 versus £6.16 for girls, 37% of boys worry about money, compared with 30% of girls.

When similar research was carried out 12 months ago, there was no particular gender divide, Halifax said.

The research also found big differences in money worries depending on where children live.

More than half (54%) of children in London worry about money.

Children in London were found to be twice as likely to worry about money than those in Wales and the South West of England, with just 27% of children there expressing this concern.

Nearly nine in 10 (88%) parents say that they worry about money themselves.

The research suggests parents are also aware of their children’s money worries, with a third (33%) of parents surveyed saying they think their children worry about cash.

Parents in London were also more likely to think their children worry about money, with 52% of parents there saying this was the case. The research also suggests that parents are becoming more confident in teaching their children the value of pounds and pence. More than four in five (83%) of parents feel comfortable talking about money with their children, up from just over three-quarters (76%) in 2015. When it comes to improving their knowledge of banking, nearly twothirds (63%) of children want to learn about bank accounts and more than a quarter (26%) want to increase their knowledge of credit cards.

Giles Martin, head of Halifax Savings, said: “It is concerning that one in three children worry about money. This is likely to be a reflection of young people picking up on their parents’ financial anxieties and shows how money issues continue to affect many families.

“Boys seem more switched on to these concerns, as despite receiving significantly more pocket money than girls, they are now more likely to worry.

“It is encouraging, however, that parents are now more comfortable talking to their children about money. With nearly two thirds of children keen to understand more about banking, it is clear these conversations are appreciated.” THE London market was in the red yesterday after the European Central Bank (ECB) said it would hand the eurozone a dose of stimulus if the Brexit vote began to hamper economic growth.

The FTSE 100 Index was 29.1 points lower at 6699.89 after ECB president Mario Draghi said Britain’s exit from the European Union had weakened the eurozone’s outlook as the Bank kept interest rates on hold.

The ECB update came as London’s premier index was led back below the 6,700 mark by budget airline easyJet, which saw its shares slump after it admitted to facing the most difficult summer holiday season for years.

Shares were down 5% or 60p to 1067p after the low-cost carrier said it has been forced to slash fares, which are down by more than 5% year on year, to boost demand, while costs have surged after the pound has fallen around 10% since the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

Boss Carolyn McCall said the pound’s plunge after the Brexit vote had seen a £40 million currency swing against the group, while holidaymaker confidence has also been impacted by sterling’s weakness as well as last week’s massacre in Nice and the attempted coup in popular destination Turkey.

The pound struggled to hold on to gains early in the session, slipping 0.1% against the dollar to 1.321 US dollars and down 0.2% against the euro to 1.199 euros, despite strong government borrowing figures for the UK.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said there was “underlying strength” in the British economy as government borrowing fell to its lowest level in June since 2007.

Across Europe, Germany’s Dax was 0.1% higher and the Cac 40 in France was marginally down.

In London, betting firm William Hill was more than 10% up after announcing that its chief executive was stepping down after the firm was hit by profit warnings and sliding sales under his tenure. James Henderson leaves the business immediately after just two years in charge, with chief financial officer Philip Bowcock taking the helm until a permanent CEO is appointed. Shares were up 29.2p to 304.3p.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 Index were Ashtead Group up 57p to 1185p, Glencore up 6.8p to 182.9p, Antofagasta up 12.3p to 495.2p, Anglo American up 13.3p to 787.7p.

The biggest fallers were easyJet, down 60p to 1067p, Sky down 32.5p to 867p, IAG down 15.1p to 405.6p and Next down 139p to 4896p.