Money transparency
How much your child learns about family money: nothing, general values and trade-offs, the budget, or income and net worth.
How much should we tell our child about the family's money?
In short: Parents choose between 4 main approaches: Finances are adult business; Share values and trade-offs, not numbers; Share the budget; Share salary and net worth. Evidence: your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide. Best settled: school age.
- Evidence
- Your call
- Best settled
- School age
- Part of
- The family system
Money transparency: what are the options?
Parents usually land on one of these 4 approaches.
1. Finances are adult business
You do not discuss family money with the child.
2. Share values and trade-offs, not numbers
You explain what you value and the choices you make, without figures.
3. Share the budget
You show the child the household budget.
4. Share salary and net worth
You tell the child what you earn and own.
Money transparency: what does the evidence say?
Your call. No outcome evidence picks a winner. Preference, culture, money and logistics decide.
Lieber suggests waiting until about 14-15 to disclose salary
Sources
What else is worth knowing?
Families vary in how openly they discuss money with children. Some share values only; others share real figures. What you tell a child they may repeat to others.
Questions to ask each other
- How much did we know about our families' money?
- What would we share with our child and at what age?
- What would stay private?
More in Money, chores and responsibility
- Baby budget and income drop
- Education savings
- Allowance model
- The child's money: structure and tools
- Spending on the child and materialism
- Birthdays and gifts
- Chore philosophy
- Chore start age and enforcement
- Self-care skills timeline
- Who pays for big items (phone, car, university)
- Investing lessons and inheritance
First published 2026-10-03. Last updated 2026-10-05. General information, not medical advice.