Vanguard finds regular money talks triple a child's grasp of banking, debit, and credit
Eighty-eight percent of Canadian parents say meaningful money conversations with their children do not happen until age 15 to 18, well after financial attitudes have taken shape.
A Vanguard Canada survey found nearly three times the financial comprehension among children in households where money comes up regularly.
The measure spans banking, debit and credit.
The same survey puts the share of parents who say teachers should play a role in their child's financial education at 49 percent.
Ontario's financial literacy graduation requirement takes effect this month inside the compulsory Grade 10 career studies course, CBC News reported, with TVO developing the learning modules and test questions and students needing at least 70 percent to pass.
"Financial well-being starts with education and by teaching students good habits at an early age, we can equip the next generation of Canadians to make well-informed decisions," said Sal D'Angelo, head of Vanguard Investments Canada Inc.
Among financially stressed parents, 68 percent feel pressure to hide their financial worries from their kids and 36 percent avoid talking about money at home altogether.
Seventy percent of that group say their children overhear money conversations anyway, and the survey found those children are nearly five times more likely to feel anxious about money than their peers.
D'Angelo said children form their relationship with money from what they see and hear at home, whether or not parents discuss it.
They are "still listening, watching" even when the subject goes unspoken.
The average Canadian family is budgeting close to $700 for back-to-school this season, and 56 percent of parents say that spending does not fit within their normal household budget.
Bottom-20 percent households plan to spend about $525 against about $925 in top-20 percent households, the firm's Centre for Canada's Future reported, with over 50 percent of parents citing price increases as the reason their bills are higher.
Dining out, entertainment, and non-school clothing are the first categories families cut to protect the school list, which also found middle-60 percent households twice as likely as top-20 percent households to say the season breaks their budget.
Advisors working with those families are dealing with parents already stretched elsewhere.
Canadian mothers carry the mental load for their families in 92 percent of cases, according to GreenShield, and 68 percent report a heavier load during the back-to-school season.
Time and cost are the main reasons 71 percent have delayed or avoided mental health support.
Khush Amaria, director of clinical services at GreenShield Health, said the mental load "never really switches off" for many mothers.
Much of the work happens out of view, from anticipating needs to managing competing priorities.
Vanguard Canada's data points to a window that closes early.
Financial attitudes form before the conversations start, and the Angus Reid fieldwork shows most Canadian households wait until the final years of high school to have them.
