A quick look at how asian parents teach about money

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1. Asian parents define “money parenting success” in different ways

As parents, we want to pass on our attitudes and beliefs about money to our children in good faith, so that it will positively influence their future financial behaviours.

We might all be Asian, but what parents of different countries see as a hallmark of success in money parenting aren’t the same. The different values and attitudes of the countries are reflected in their diverse desired outcomes.

2. Children in different cultures start learning about money at different ages

At a glance, 30% of all the parents surveyed start teaching their children at 7-10 years of age.

While that seems to be the norm for most cultures, those in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand are more proactive — their children start learning how to use and manage money at 5-6 years of age.

If you think that’s too young, ask the Taiwanese: 28% of them said they start teaching their children about money when their kids are under 4 years of age! Perhaps early birds really do catch the worm.

3. A significant number of Asian parents believe digital content (TV, apps, websites) are useful money parenting tools

This is especially so for parents in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and China.

Vietnamese parents seem to really love TV — 54% believe that a TV programme for children that is entertaining & educational would be a great tool to help them teach their kids to use and manage money better.

With the rise of Chinese tech giants that are taking over the world, it also comes as no surprise that 42% of Chinese parents want an app that can help their children learn.

In stark contrast, only 5% of Japanese parents think a website can be beneficial — an interesting statistic given the tech-savvy nature of Japanese society and their high internet penetration rates.

Overall, 43% of all parents surveyed agree that learning more about financial management themselves will be the best way to help their children. Many acknowledge that there is no one-size-fits-all method and would like to improve their knowledge to be a better teacher and role model to their children.

4. The most important lesson Asian parents want their children to learn differs across the countries

Learning the value of money is a main priority for most, except in 3 countries: Indonesia, Taiwan and China.

In Asia alone, there are so many approaches towards money parenting — there is no universally right way to go about it. Other parents may share your goals and concerns yet do things in different ways.

Much of it boils down to what type of money parenting style you have. The Asia Money Parenting Survey identified 5 money parenting personas — The Freestylers, The Facilitators, The Nurturers, The Go-Getters and The Balancers.

In a nutshell, these profiles are based on:

• parents who want to be ‘hands on’ and actively teach their child, versus those who believe a child can best learn through their own experience;
• those who see money parenting as very important, versus those who see it as less so;
• parents who believe they have sufficient financial knowledge to teach their child, versus those who do not;
• those who see themselves as successful teachers, versus those who do not.

Eager to find out which persona you are? Take our 2-min quiz!

Remember, you are not alone — there’s always something to learn, whether it’s from other parents or from available resources like our money parenting site. Broaden your horizons and enhance your money parenting journey now.