At school our children are taught to add up and subtract but, extraordinarily, are not routinely shown how to open a bank account – let alone how to manage their finances in an increasingly complex and demanding world.
Today the parenting website Mumsnet and the consumer campaigner Martin Lewis have joined forces to launch an online petition to make financial education a compulsory element of the school curriculum in England. Children from five to 16 should be taught about everything from pocket money to pensions, they say.
And that was exactly the plan enshrined in the Children, Schools and Families bill that was shelved by the government in the so-called "wash-up" earlier this month – the rush to legislation before parliament was dissolved.
The blueprint had the personal endorsement of the childrens' secretary Ed Balls, yet fell victim to last-minute parliamentary jostling and a preoccupation with the parental opt-out on sex education.
Consumer and parent groups believe financial education has always been one of the most baffling omissions of the curriculum.
As the Personal Finance Education Group (Pfeg) points out, the good habits of young children do not last long. Over 75% of seven- to 11-year-olds are savers but by the time they get to 17, over half of them are in debt to family and friends. By this age, 26% see a credit card or overdraft as a way of extending their spending power.
Pfeg predicts that these young people will "find it much harder to avoid the serious pitfalls that have befallen many of their parents' generation unless they receive good quality financial education while at school."
The UK has been in the grip of the worst financial recession for generations. It does seem odd that – unless parents step in – young people are left in the dark until they are brutally introduced to the world of debt when they turn up at university.
Chris Tapp, from money education charity Credit Action, puts it succinctly:" It's like we've been sending out people to drive without first giving them instruction – and then being shocked when they crash. It's a no-brainer, everybody needs to manage money and use financial products wisely and I wholeheartedly support this call to the next government – whatever colour it may be – to ensure that giving every child the opportunity to learn about finance is of the upmost priority after the election."
In a recent poll of over 8,000 people, 97% supported financial education in schools, while 3% said it was a job for parents. What do you think – is it up to parents to encourage good habits or should financial education be entrusted to schools?
