As parents contend with rising costs and an overall tighter economic climate, more of them are using those challenges as an opportunity to have frank talks with their kids about money, according to a recent survey.
Honest conversations — including telling your kids “no” when they ask you to buy something, and explaining why — can give those kids an early foundation of financial literacy that can serve them well later in life, says Brad Klontz, a financial psychologist, author and associate economics professor at Creighton University.
In the survey of 2,000 U.S. parents, released March 31 by financial software company Intuit, almost two-thirds — 64% — of parents raising kids under age 18 said that recent financial challenges forced them to be more transparent with their children about how they manage their finances. Sixty-six percent of respondents reported saying “no” to purchase requests more often while explaining their reasoning to their kids.
Kids don’t always learn much about money in school: As of March 2026, 39 U.S. states make passing a personal finance course a requirement of high school graduation, which is up from just 12 states in 2022, according to the Council for Economic Education.
