Money Habits Start at Three

Researchers at Cambridge University found that financial habits are largely formed by age seven — before most kids finish second grade. The way a child sees you handle money — paying with cards, talking about prices, choosing between wants — shapes how they think about money for decades.

A 2017 T. Rowe Price survey found that 69% of parents have some reluctance to discuss money with their kids. But silence doesn't create a blank slate — it creates anxiety. Kids who never hear about money grow up afraid of it.