{"id":50493,"date":"2026-04-14T13:29:45","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:29:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50493"},"modified":"2026-04-14T13:29:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T13:29:45","slug":"the-financial-topics-parents-find-most-difficult-to-teach-their-teens-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=50493","title":{"rendered":"The financial topics parents find most difficult to teach their teens: survey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft wp-block-nypost-editor-partner-article-links\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Parents think teens should have their first debit card before their 16th birthday, according to new research.<\/p>\n<p>A survey of 2,000 parents of teens ages 13 to 17 revealed that not only should today\u2019s teens have a debit card (at age 15.5, on average), they should also have a checking account around the same age (15.8).<\/p>\n<p>The survey revealed that a majority of parents think a savings account should come first, with the ideal age being 13 (13.3%).<\/p>\n<p>Interestingly, the average parent polled believes that a teen should have access to a credit card at age 17 (17.5%).<\/p>\n<p>Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Huntington Bank, the results revealed that many teens don\u2019t have a savings account (25%) or a debit card (33%).<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Parents think teens should have their first debit card before their 16th birthday, according to new research.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Almost half (47%) say their teen doesn\u2019t have a checking account, and most (65%) have yet to get their teen a credit card, even though 80% of parents say their teen needs more money during an average week than when they were kids, at an average of $108.<\/p>\n<p>Results also revealed a shift in financial timelines, with parents saying financial education and access should be introduced earlier for their children than when they were growing up.<\/p>\n<p>The average parent polled was 17 before they got their first debit card (17.7) or checking account (17.3).<\/p>\n<p>Taking things a step further, almost two-thirds of parents polled (63%) feel like they\u2019re behind financially in terms of preparing for their child\u2019s next steps, whether that be graduation and college, or simply getting a job or car.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The survey revealed that a majority of parents think a savings account should come first, with the ideal age being 13. <span class=\"credit\">Lumos sp \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>And yet with so many digital banking resources offered across the country, only 29% of parents feel \u201cvery prepared\u201d to teach their teen how to navigate and understand these tools.<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/03\/27\/lifestyle\/half-of-parents-still-support-their-gen-z-millennial-up-to-1800-a-month\/\">parents find that teaching their child how to budget<\/a> (52%), how to save (48%), how to understand credit (37%), how to understand their taxes (30%), and how to manage debt (30%) are the top five most difficult topics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur research shows that roughly one in five (21%) parents polled feel \u2018very prepared\u2019 to teach their child how to navigate the current economy, and only one in five (20%) teens share the same sentiment. That tells us that parents are learning alongside their teens and need resources to help guide them,\u201d said Brant Standridge, president of consumer and regional banking at Huntington Bank. \u201cThe financial landscape is drastically different today\u2014and will continue to change with the introduction of new technologies, generational behavior trends, and economic shifts\u2014and parents need practical tools that help teens plan and save for their financial futures.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignright\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>Results found that the key to progress may be having honest conversations and keeping an open mind. Only 27% say their own parents were \u201cvery open\u201d about their financial situation with them when they were growing up, whereas nearly double (57%) say the same about themselves today.<\/p>\n<p>Now, more than half (52%) say they regularly discuss finances with their child.<\/p>\n<p>Financial mistakes or missteps (64%) and financial goals (60%) are the top two topics parents feel comfortable discussing with their teen, and many would go so far as to tell their teen their salary (47%) and how much debt they have (40%).<\/p>\n<p>The survey also asked a few questions geared toward teens directly and found that 90% believe their parents are knowledgeable about finances.<\/p>\n<p>When asked the biggest piece of financial information they learned from their parents, one teen said, \u201cnot to waste money on things that I don\u2019t really need,\u201d while another took that a step further, saying they learned \u201cnot to be tricked by ads or influencers into buying things I don\u2019t need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many other teens emphasized the importance of saving, investing, and budgeting, mirroring the tools needed to financially succeed in today\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Results also revealed a shift in financial timelines, with parents saying financial education and access should be introduced earlier for their children than when they were growing up. <span class=\"credit\">AntonioDiaz \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThis research confirms that parents are working hard to ensure their teen is ready for their next steps. Almost three in five parents (59%) have a lot of oversight over their teens\u2019 finances, and 41% hope for more,\u201d said Dan Griffith, director of wealth strategy at Huntington Bank. \u201cIt\u2019s not about taking full control, it\u2019s about leveraging common family values to understand challenges and opportunities to find the best solutions and set the next generation up for financial success.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Most Difficult Topics For Parents to Teach Their Teens:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u25cf How to budget \u2013 52%<br \/>\u25cf How to save \u2013 48%<br \/>\u25cf Understanding credit \u2013 37%<br \/>\u25cf Understanding taxes \u2013 30%<br \/>\u25cf Managing debt \u2013 30%<br \/>\u25cf How to invest \u2013 29%<br \/>\u25cf What to invest \u2013 23%<br \/>\u25cf Online banking safety and security \u2013 19%<br \/>\u25cf What interest is\/how interest works \u2013 19%<br \/>\u25cf How loans work \u2013 16%<br \/>\u25cf Managing a retirement fund\/account \u2013 13%<\/p>\n<p><strong>Research methodology:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Talker Research surveyed 2,000 parents of teens ages 13 to 17 who have access to the internet; the survey was commissioned by Huntington Bank and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Feb. 3 and Feb. 10, 2026. A link to the questionnaire can be found here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/13\/lifestyle\/the-financial-topics-parents-find-most-difficult-to-teach-their-teens-survey\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Parents think teens should have their first debit card before their 16th birthday, according to new research. A survey of 2,000 parents of teens ages 13&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=50493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50493\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}