A new survey conducted by TD Bank Group shows that nearly 60 per cent of Canadian parents are concerned about their children’s financial future, primarily due to the impact of inflation and the prevailing economic uncertainties in the country.
According to the survey published on Wednesday, an overwhelming majority of surveyed parents (89 per cent) believe that their confidence in their children's financial future would improve if their kids gained better financial knowledge before their teenage years.
The survey also found that 66 per cent of parents are not highly confident in their children's current financial knowledge.
In the survey, 60 per cent of parents admitted that they had made mistakes with finances during their childhood, with the majority attributing these mistakes to a lack of financial education at that time.
"Our survey shows that 70 per cent of Canadian parents don't feel very prepared to support their kids' financial literacy at home,'' vice-president of Everyday Advice Journey at TD, Emily Ross, said in a press release published on Wednesday.
"We understand that it can be hard to find the time or even know where to begin and are here to help parents and children on their journey to building healthy financial habits."
TD Group’s survey also found that a similar amount of Canadian parents consider budgeting (73 per cent) and saving money (72 per cent) to be the two most important financial fundamentals for children to learn today.
When it comes to educating children at home, the survey revealed that Canadian parents have been falling short in having regular discussions about personal or home finances. Only 29 per cent of parents reported discussing finance with their child on a weekly basis.
"It's never too early to start talking about finances and there are small, simple steps parents can take now to help increase their children's financial knowledge. We suggest parents keep the conversation age appropriate, talk openly and honestly about money, and help your kids distinguish between needs versus wants," added Ross.
Methodology:
Results are based on a Maru Public Opinion survey conducted online between June 8 to 13, 2023, on behalf of TD Bank Group. A sample of 1,008 randomly selected Canadian parents with children under the age of 18 and who are also Maru Voice Canada online panelists completed this survey.
The results of this study have been weighted by gender and region according to Census data. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error (which measures sampling variability) of +/- 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.
