'What Do Kids Know About Money?'
In the UK we are experiencing a period of uncertainty. With precarious incomes, ever-rising housing costs and unprecedented levels of indebtedness, distress, as a direct and indirect result of money, is epidemic across the UK. Currently, 11.5 million people in the UK have less than £100 in savings and nearly nine million of us are in serious debt (FinCap 2019). Yet money and personal finances can often be a taboo subject.
Research has shown that talking openly about money is vitally important to our health, wealth and relationships. Those who do discuss money frequently have been shown to:
Make better and less risky financial decisions.
Have stronger personal relationships.
Help their children form good lifetime money habits.
Feel less stressed or anxious and more in control of their lives.
Talking about money has a positive impact on individuals, their loved ones and those around them.
LifeSavers is a financial education programme for primary schools that educates and challenges children to reconsider their relationship to, and perceptions of, money; encouraging healthy, proactive discussions of finances from an early age.
Why primary school children? Research has highlighted that key habits around money are being formed by the age of 7, yet just 5% of parents think that their child or children leave school with the adequate skills needed to manage their money well.
We take a values-based approach to the discussion of money and financial education because to be truly impactful we must not only talk about the nuts and bolts of spending and saving, but also about the meaning and value of money. Underpinned by the key values of Generosity, Wisdom, Justice and Thankfulness, LifeSavers challenges children to discuss and take on Five Big Questions:
· Where does our money come from?
· How does money make us feel?
· What can we use our money for?
· How does our money help other people?
· How can we look after our money?
LifeSavers pupils discuss and explore all that we can do with our money – spend, save, give, lend, invest and borrow – within a wider social and economic context. Consequently, schools, parents and the children themselves all report talking about money more frequently and, critically, thinking about money in a different way.
“We’ve already seen it have a positive impact on pupils and their families” says the Headteacher of Forster Park Primary School. “For example, a year 6 student has warned his parents from borrowing money from a loan shark and has advised them to go to our local Credit Union.”
In the case of the pupil from Forster Park Primary School, the initial discussions of money through LifeSavers, allowed a variety of healthy financial behaviours to be decided and then put into practice. But talking was the first step.
As much as us adults may like to think that money is an ‘adult topic’, talking about money certainly isn’t. Lifesavers schools report that conversations about money empower their children, building financial health, resilience and capability for later in life. But talking about money doesn’t have to stop at the end of the school day. Discussions at home about needs and wants, the weekly shop and saving for a holiday are all fantastic starts!
So the next time your child asks ‘Why are my trainers so expensive?’ or ‘What is tax?’… explain to them! Or even better: start those conversations yourself.