With over a decade of advances in the field of financial socialization, it can be difficult to find exactly what you’re looking for advice on. What have financial researchers learned about how money impacts families and how to teach children about finances? This article summarizes a decade of family financial socialization research,[1] which is the study of how families teach their children about finances and the consequences those teachings have on children’s later financial outcomes. Please feel free to use this article as a segue to various sources of academic information on financial socialization.

Of all the skills and values parents hope to pass down to their children, we hope that financial knowledge is one of them. Children absorb financial information both from what their parents say—but also what is left unsaid. Indeed, parents can teach their children about finances explicitly, but sometimes, financial actions speak louder than words.

You’ve probably heard of the birds and the bees, but what about the birds and the budgets? In two studies, Ashley LeBaron-Black and her colleagues sought to understand how parents effectively teach their children about money.

Buying a car or a home for the first time can bring a lot of excitement—but also a lot of angst, especially for young adults.

As of 2022, only eight states require high school students to enroll in a personal finance course prior to graduation.1