Nearly two-thirds of American parents, 64%, say money is tight right now. Many of them have stopped hiding it from their children.
That is one finding from a March 2026 online survey commissioned by Intuit, which questioned 2,000 U.S. parents with children under 18. Another: 81% said their own financial stress has shown them how much it matters to teach kids about money.
Saying no, and explaining why
Parents described several ways of being more open at home. The most common was refusing a purchase and giving the financial reason, reported by 66%. Some 57% take children grocery shopping so they see what things cost. Smaller groups show kids what rent, utilities and household bills run to (38%), bring them into talks about paying for cars or college (35%), or explain how loans, credit cards and interest work (35%).
Asked what teaches children best, parents pointed to experience. Earning their own income, such as a summer job, led at 63%. Regular honest conversations followed at 58%. Saving up for something non-essential, and practicing with an allowance, each drew 57%.
Breaking the “money silence”
Seventy-nine percent of parents said they are more open with their kids than their own parents were with them. And 71% said they talk about money mainly so their children avoid repeating the mistakes they made.
Their own schooling left gaps. Eighty-three percent wish they had been taught more about money as children. Just over half, 51%, said they got no financial literacy education at school, and 57% said they learned little or nothing from their own parents. Only 17% said financial literacy was required when they were in school.
For ideas now, 39% turn to online parenting communities such as Facebook groups and Reddit.
Doubts, and a push for schools
Many parents do not feel up to the job alone. Thirty-two percent question their ability to teach their children about finances, 37% struggle to find a clear way to explain concepts, and 33% worry their financial stress is frightening their kids more than educating them. Fifty-nine percent said they worry more about their child’s future money management than about academic or career performance.
They want schools involved. Ninety percent want their children to get more financial education than they receive at home, 88% say it should be a core subject like math and science, and 89% think states should require financial literacy courses in high school.
Intuit, the company behind TurboTax and QuickBooks, runs a free program called Intuit for Education. It aims to reach 50 million students from middle school to college by 2030 with more than 200 hours of classroom curriculum.
