Majority of parents hesitate about giving their child greater financial independence
Nearly nine in 10 Canadian parents, 87 percent, report at least one hesitation about giving their child greater financial independence.
The same share, 87 percent, rate money management skills during the school year as extremely or very important, according to RBC research commissioned by Mydoh, and 50 percent call it extremely important.
Spending too quickly is the most common concern at 49 percent, the Mydoh research shows, followed by poor spending decisions at 42 percent.
A third of parents, 33 percent, worry their child will be scammed or make unsafe online purchases, and 23 percent say their child is not mature enough yet.
Two thirds of parents, 67 percent, expect their child to save up for something they want during the school year while 61 percent expect them to manage their own spending money and 57 percent expect them to make small purchases independently.
Just 22 percent of parents expect their child to manage part of the back-to-school shopping budget, and 13 percent expect their child to make purchases online independently.
Nearly one in five parents, 19 percent, say they find it difficult to step back and allow financial mistakes.
"Knowing that and feeling comfortable handing over responsibility are two very different things," said Angelique de Montbrun, chief executive officer of Mydoh, in the release, referring to parents who see money management as a life skill.
She said the approach gives children a measure of independence alongside guidance, letting them learn from real decisions at low stakes.
Vanessa Bowen, CPA and founder of personal finance coaching platform Mint Worthy, said children build financial independence through experience rather than reaching it at a fixed point.
Parents can start with manageable decisions and hand over more as judgment develops, she said, in comments supplied with the Mydoh release.
Bowen recommends starting with distinguishing wants from needs, comparing prices, and managing lunch money or set school purchases, then increasing responsibility over time.
Handing a child one defined piece of the back-to-school budget, such as a set amount for school supplies, lets them weigh trade-offs and see that spending more in one place leaves less for another, according to Bowen.
She also advises parents to agree in advance on which purchases a child can make alone, when to check with a parent, and how to recognise a suspicious website or offer.
