Why so much parental reticence when it comes to money talk?
Some parents cling to the outmoded Puritan ethic that money is bad, Godfrey says. Others think that if they talk to their children about money, they must disclose how much they earn and examine their own bad financial habits. Not true, Pearl insists. “We don’t have to open up our profit and loss statements to our kids.” And then there’s the guilt factor. Many times parents substitute money for time, Godfrey observes. She urges parents to think carefully about the messages they’re conveying to children. Whatever approach families take, attitudes toward money trickle down from generation to generation. “If parents are able to be open with each other about money, then they’re going to be that way with children,” says Mary Staton, a financial adviser in Charlotte, N.C. “But if it’s such an emotional issue that they can’t talk about it readily, then they probably won’t talk about it with their children.” Even without specific conversations, children pick up signals. The bulk of communicatio
