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Modern parents are worried their kids just don’t understand the value of money. New research backs up their concerns, as it finds that nearly one in three moms and dads have discovered their child made an online purchase without their permission.
According to a new poll of 2-thousand parents across the country with kids 18 and under, 31% caught their kids doing unapproved shopping on the Internet.
- While most didn’t rack up huge bills, the average unauthorized shopping spree cost families about $170.
- But some kids were big spenders, with 19% blowing over $300 without mom and dad’s okay.
- Since we’re talking about kids, it’s not surprising that a lot of their unapproved purchases were for things like video games and clothes, but some went all out and bought themselves computers, smartphones, smart watches, and cameras.
- Some parents say their children even splurged on stocks and cryptocurrency.
- After catching a child’s unapproved purchase, 56% deal with it by having a talk with their kid. Some give consequences including taking away a device (23%), requiring the child to pay the money back (20%) or limiting or cutting off bank account access (11%).
- But despite the potential financial risks, many parents aren’t closely monitoring their kids’ spending. Nearly a quarter (23%) admit they rarely or never check their kids’ debit and credit card activity.
- And 11% never require their kids to get permission before buying something online.
- Overall, 72% of parents think their child doesn’t fully understand the value of a dollar.
- Nearly half (44%) say that’s especially true with digital currency, as it’s harder to teach kids the value of digital money compared to physical money.
- Two-thirds (66+%) of parents say they’d be more relaxed about their kids’ spending if they showed that they understand the value of money.
- For a lot of kids, allowance is their only income and 57% of moms and dads polled say they give their kids a regular allowance.
- Most pay it in cash (73%), the average is about $119 a month, but a lucky 14% get over $250.
Source: Talker