MW The incredible power in telling your kids about your biggest money mistakes
By Venessa Wong
Here's how financially stressed parents can teach their kids about money - without passing on their anxiety
"When money feels like an off-limits topic to kids, they might fill in the gaps themselves, and not always accurately," said Dave Zasada, vice president of corporate responsibility and education at Intuit.
Samantha Bird was not comfortable talking to her three young children about money. She and her husband had just dug themselves out of $40,000 worth of debt. They were glad to be free of their financial burden, but it also left her with the sense that she had made a lot of mistakes with money. Bird felt it was critical that her children learn what she hadn't known about money and avoid the same traps she had fallen into.
"I tell them that I made mistakes," she said. "We had a conversation on debt, explaining the basics of what it was, how it can be a helpful tool but dangerous if you're not careful with it. And then I explained my story with debt, that we didn't have self control with the debt, we weren't careful with how we were using it, and it built up so much and took a while to manage."
Bird designed tools to help the kids budget, and holds weekly money meetings to check in and reinforce the ideas she hopes her children, now 11, 9 and 8 years old, will internalize. Her discomfort gradually waned. Bird started sharing her approach on social media. "I will continue to get more comfortable as I learn and grow and expand my financial knowledge," she said.
In a new Intuit poll, 81% of parents said their current financial stress has made them realize how important it is to teach their kids about money. Most (79%) said they are being more transparent about their finances with their children than their parents were with them, including by saying no to them more often (and explaining why), taking them grocery shopping to learn about costs, showing them their bills, planning major expenses like cars or college with them, and explaining how debt works.
More parents are also opening up brokerage accounts for their children to invest, including new teen accounts that allow kids ages 13 to 17 to trade without parental approval, MarketWatch recently reported.
Read more: Teens turn to investing to build a new path to the American dream. 'My goal is to live comfortably.'
"It is never too early to start laying the foundation for good personal-finance skills with your kids, and then building on those early lessons as they get older," Dave Zasada, vice president of corporate responsibility and education at Intuit $(INTU)$, told MarketWatch.
Parents who are anxious about money may worry they'll pass their emotional baggage on to the next generation, but it's possible to give kids constructive financial lessons without weighing them down.
Parents who are stressed about money can redirect conversations with their kids to "decision-making and agency," he said. "When conversations are grounded in planning, problem-solving and small everyday decisions, they build confidence instead of anxiety. Over time, that shows kids that money isn't something to fear or avoid, but it is something that requires active navigation."
"I also don't shy away from using my own financial journey, mistakes and all, as examples."Dave Zasada, vice president of corporate responsibility and education at Intuit
For instance, Jennifer Seitz, director of education at Greenlight, a money-management app for kids, told MarketWatch that young children between the ages of 3 and 7 can start by counting coins and bills and learning how choosing between options based on cost impacts their wallet.
Tweens can create simple budgets for their allowances and map out savings goals, like how many weeks it would take to save for a videogame, and what the tradeoffs are.
Teens can then manage small amounts for specific spending categories, such as back-to-school clothes.
"The earlier you start, the more confident they'll feel about making smart money decisions later," Seitz said.
Zasada said when his two children were young, he reinforced both basic financial lessons - recognizing wants versus needs, how to budget, how interest rates work - and more complex ones, such as how to manage debt, why a credit score is important, and what a 401(k) is.
More on this: This millennial mom 'charges' her 6-year-old rent. Experts say it's not too young.
"I've personally found the most effective approach has been to consistently talk about, and ask about, the decisions they are making," Zasada said. "I also don't shy away from using my own financial journey, mistakes and all, as examples. It helps reinforce that making smart money decisions isn't always easy, which is why you must always embrace a learning mindset."
Most parents aren't confident about money
These conversations can be challenging for parents who are not confident about their finances. The majority of parents (58%) in a Greenlight survey did not feel equipped to teach their kids about money.
Parents turned to social media, friends and family, and financial apps and websites for help, according to the Intuit poll. (Intuit offers free online courses for kids; teens who open a youth account with Schwab $(SCHW)$ can get free live coaching sessions and take online courses on investing.)
"Parents do not need to be experts in finance to help their children build strong financial habits," including in investing, said Christine Tobin, chief operating officer of the Young Investors Society, a nonprofit that teaches investing in schools. In fact, the organization encourages parents to learn alongside their children.
Those who feel they have not invested or managed their money well in the past can be "honest about lessons learned - discussing what they would do differently and modeling a willingness to improve helps normalize the idea that financial literacy is a lifelong journey," Tobin said. "The most valuable thing parents can do is create an open, ongoing dialogue about money."
Regardless of how a parent has done financially for themselves, "part of being a parent is raising your kids to go into the world and win, and that includes teaching them how money works," Rachel Cruze, a co-host on "The Ramsey Show" and the daughter of personal-finance personality Dave Ramsey, said to MarketWatch. "Your example as a parent matters more than anything, so that should motivate you to be financially responsible."
"The most valuable thing parents can do is create an open, ongoing dialogue about money."Christine Tobin, chief operating officer of the Young Investors Society
While it's not necessary to go into all of the details of your finances that you would with a partner, it is beneficial to be honest with your kids as you can be about money, said Greenlight's Seitz. Saying you can't afford something when that isn't true, for example, can unnecessarily harm a child's relationship with money in the long-term.
More on MarketWatch: Workers are getting very worried about losing their jobs as financial fears rise
Meanwhile, if a parent has lost their job or is experiencing financial hardship, "set clear expectations about how you'll handle having less money coming in or spending less," for instance, by finding creative ways to have family outings on a tightened budget. "This lets them know what's going on without the worry that can come along with uncertain money problems," Seitz said. "Reassure your child that you're always going to take care of them no matter how much money is coming in."
Despite any discomfort parents may feel about their finances, "avoiding conversations altogether can create more confusion and anxiety for them," Intuit's Zaasada said. "When money feels like an off-limits topic to kids, they might fill in the gaps themselves, and not always accurately."
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-Venessa Wong
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April 04, 2026 10:13 ET (14:13 GMT)
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