Only 13 percent of parents trust their child to buy online alone
Half of Canadian parents, 49 percent, expect their child to spend money too quickly if given more financial independence.
RBC research commissioned by Mydoh places poor spending decisions next at 42 percent, followed by exposure to scams or unsafe online purchases at 33 percent and doubts about maturity at 23 percent.
Nearly nine in 10 parents, 87 percent, report at least one reservation about extending financial independence to their child.
An identical 87 percent rate money management during the school year as extremely or very important, and 50 percent call it extremely important.
Two thirds of parents, 67 percent, expect their child to save up for something they want during the school year while 61 percent expect them to manage their own spending money and 57 percent expect them to make small purchases independently.
Only 22 percent of parents expect their child to manage part of the back-to-school shopping budget, and 13 percent expect their child to buy online independently.
Nearly one in five, 19 percent, say they find it difficult to step back and allow financial mistakes.
Angelique de Montbrun, chief executive officer of Mydoh, said parents know money management is a life skill but find handing over responsibility harder.
"It's to give them the right amount of independence, with the right amount of guidance," she said in the release, so children learn from real decisions while the stakes are still low.
Vanessa Bowen, CPA and founder of personal finance coaching platform Mint Worthy, said financial independence builds through experience.
She said parents can start with manageable decisions and give children more ownership as their judgment develops, in comments supplied with the Mydoh release.
Bowen recommends graduated exposure, beginning with wants versus needs, price comparison, and lunch money or set school purchases.
She said giving a child one defined portion of the back-to-school budget, such as a fixed amount for supplies, teaches trade-offs and shows that spending more in one place leaves less elsewhere.
Rules agreed in advance on independent purchases, when to consult a parent, and how to spot a suspicious website or offer should accompany any expansion of independence, she said.
