Kids & Cash: T. Rowe Price's 2016 Parents, Kids & Money Survey

BOSTON (CBS) - Rowe Price's annual Parents, Kids & Money Survey was released in March. Their headline in the e-mail was "Parents Show No Reluctance To Overspend On Kids But Are Reluctant To Discuss Money With Them".

What they have found was parents stretching their financial resources too much for kids' non-essentials:

• Nearly half of parents have gone into debt for something their kids wanted.
• 57% of kids expected parents to buy them what they wanted.
• More than half (58%) of surveyed parents worry that they spoil their kids.
• Birthdays come with big price tags: 41% of parents spent $200 or more on their child's birthday presents in the past 12 months. The same percentage (41%) spent $200 or more on their child's birthday party in the past 12 months.

According to the Los Angeles Times, children in the United States make up just 3.7% of children on the planet but have 47% of all the toys and children's books.

The survey also found that parents struggle to teach money lessons:

• Over 70% of parents are reluctant to talk with kids about financial matters.
• When asked how often they take advantage of the opportunities that occur throughout the day to talk to their kids about financial topics, less than half of the parents said they do at least most of the time.
• 44% of kids surveyed talk with their friends about money a lot. Nearly half of kids (47%) have lent money to their friends. Only 15% were not paid back.
• Parents talk to their boys more about money...but only because they think their boys need more help.
• 91% of parents feel it is appropriate for kids to learn about financial matters in school.

For help teaching your kids start with T. Rowe Price's MoneyConfidentKids, a resource for parents and educators with money games, tips, and information.

They also have a new game, Star Banks Adventure, which I needed help with from some 10-year-olds.

....................

You can hear Dee Lee's expert financial advice on WBZ NewsRadio 1030 each weekday at 1:55 p.m., 3:55 p.m., and 7:55 p.m.

Subscribe to Dee's Money Matters newsletter here.