When it comes to money, boys know their stuff, while girls don’t — at least that’s how many parents see it.
According to T. Rowe Price’s 2014 Parents, Kids & Money Survey released Monday, parents don’t think of — or treat — their sons and daughters the same when it comes to money.
Fully 58% of boys say that their parents talk to them about setting financial goals, while just 50% of girls say that.
What’s more, parents seem to trust boys more with financial matters, as twice as many boys (12%) have credit cards than do girls (children under 18 need their parents’ permission to carry credit cards).
T. Rowe Price surveyed 924 kids ages eight to 14 and 1,000 parents with kids in that age group.
Are parents treating boys and girls differently because they think boys are better with money than girls? Surprisingly, yes.
In response to a question for parents of only one child, the survey showed that 80% of parents with a boy think their child understands the value of a dollar, while only 69% of parents with a girl do.
And for their part, the kids may be internalizing this message: 45% of boys say they are very or extremely smart about money, while just 38% of girls say the same thing.
Whatever the reason for these discrepancies, one thing is clear: It’s essential — both for the child and the parent — for parents to talk to both their daughters and sons about money from an early age.
For one, it can help children learn to be financially responsible: 60% of children whose parents frequently talk to them about setting financial goals say they are “savers” vs. 46% of kids whose parents don’t often talk to them about financial goals.
And 58% of kids whose parents frequently talk to them about saving for college put money away for their own college education, compared to just 23% of kids whose parents don’t discuss saving for college, the survey revealed.
What’s more, financially responsible children may financially help their parents.
Michele Clark, a certified financial planner with Clark Hourly Financial Planning and Investment Management in Chesterfield, Mo., says that she’s seen a number of cases where parents are vastly under-saved for retirement because they never taught their kids how to manage their own money, the kids then constantly asked for money from the parents into adulthood, and the parents kept giving it to them.
“This can become a lifelong problem for the parents,” she says.
There are a variety of resources that can help you get started talking to your kids about money, including this by-age guide from nonprofit financial education foundation Smart About Money and this money guide from MarketWatch’s Jonathan Burton.
While many parents are intimidated by money conversations because they don’t know where to start, Jim MacKay, a certified financial planner with MacKay Financial Planning, in Springfield, Mo., says that you don’t need a formal plan for the conversation to get started talking to your kids about money.
“I am a believer in being open with them and making sure they understand what’s happening when we use credit or debit cards and how each purchase we make is a decision that we control,” he says.
Indeed, you can work money conversations into everyday activities.
Clark says that even a trip to the grocery store can be a teaching experience. Talk to younger kids about what individual items cost and older kids about how the grocery bill adds up; she says that you can start these kinds of conversations as early as kindergarten.
Furthermore, MacKay says that you should show children basic budgeting steps so they can appreciate how income and expenses work, and Clark says that it is a good idea to let children earn extra money around the house by doing certain chores, so that they learn the value of a dollar.
This article originally appeared on Marketwatch.com.