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61% of Parents Admit Their Kids Are More Financially Responsible Than They Were
In A Nutshell
- 61% of parents say their kids are more financially responsible with money than they were at the same age, with children now earning an average of $52 per month in allowance, which is $36 more than their parents made after adjusting for inflation.
- Digital payments are replacing cash for allowances, with 17% using payment apps and 14% using preloaded debit cards, while some parents pay in experiences or screen time instead of money.
- Parents have created a tiered payment system where babysitting siblings earns $13, good grades pay $12, and routine chores like vacuuming net just $8. Even the Tooth Fairy now leaves $9 per tooth.
- More than half of parents report their kids have bought bizarre items with allowance money, including live spiders, bags of cheese, baby chickens, and knockoff collectibles, though 32% watch their children spend everything in a single day.
Six in ten parents believe their children are more financially responsible than they were at the same age, according to a survey of moms and dads. These confident parents are backing up that belief with cold, hard cash (or increasingly, digital payments) to the tune of $52 per month in allowance.
A Talker Research survey of 2,000 U.S. parents of school-aged children, commissioned by Acorns Early and conducted by Talker Research in September 2025, reveals a generation of kids who are apparently better money managers than their parents were. An overwhelming 78% of parents say their children handle money responsibly, and 61% go further, admitting their kids outpace them in fiscal responsibility at the same age.
With children receiving the aforementioned $52 monthly allowance, the survey shows that’s $36 more than their parents earned at the same age, adjusted for inflation. Three in four parents provide regular allowances, and most believe financial education should start around age 10.
Cash Takes a Back Seat to Apps and Cards
The way kids receive money has changed dramatically. While 56% of parents still hand over cash, nearly a third have embraced alternatives that didn’t exist when they were children. Digital payment apps now handle 17% of allowance transactions, and 14% of parents use preloaded debit cards designed for kids. Some have abandoned currency entirely, compensating their children in experiences (6%) or screen time (6%) instead.
Two-thirds of parents feel confident about their allowance approach, knowing exactly what lessons they’re teaching and how much to pay. The other third regularly seek advice from fellow parents to make sure they’re getting it right.
The Chore Pay Scale Ranges From $8 to $13
Parents have created a payment hierarchy based on the difficulty and importance of tasks. Babysitting younger siblings tops the pay scale at $13, followed by good grades at $12 and yard work at $11. Routine household responsibilities command lower rates: being polite to guests earns $10, helping clean the home pays $10, tidying their own room brings in $9, completing daily chores nets $9, and vacuuming or sweeping rounds out at $8.
Even the Tooth Fairy has adjusted for inflation, leaving an average of $9 per lost baby tooth.
The majority of parents (67%) say they give allowances to teach financial responsibility. Others use them as rewards for achievements (59%) or to help children save for specific purchases (55%).
“Kids don’t learn about money by reading about it—they learn it by living it,” said Noah Kerner, CEO and Chairman of Acorns, which commissioned the study. “Allowance is an easy way to grow kids’ money smarts through experience. Before they’re out on their own, they get years of hands-on exposure to the connection between earning, spending, and saving. As adults, instead of confusion, they feel confidence.”
Kids Blow Through Allowances on Spiders and Cheese
Despite parent confidence in their children’s financial skills, allowances don’t always go according to plan. Nearly a third of parents (32%) have watched their kids spend an entire allowance in a single day. Others field complaints that allowances aren’t generous enough (23%), encounter resistance to assigned chores (19%), or witness purchases of bizarre items (17%).
More than half (55%) report their children have bought genuinely weird things with allowance money. One parent shared: “My child came home from school with a spider. He said his classmate at school sold it to him for one dollar.” Other head-scratching purchases include bags of cheese, slime, fish, a baby chicken, expensive toys, and Labobos, knockoff versions of trendy Labubu collectibles.
Among the 24% of parents who don’t provide allowances, the main reasons include children being too young (31%), kids not understanding money management (22%), or teenagers already earning income from jobs (16%).
Whether early money management translates to genuine financial wisdom remains to be seen. For now, parents are betting that hands-on experience with earning, spending, and yes, sometimes buying live spiders, will pay off when their children reach adulthood. At the very least, this generation is learning that money doesn’t grow on trees—but it might show up in a payment app every month if the chores get done.
Survey Methodology
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 American parents of school-aged children between September 22 and September 29, 2025. The survey was commissioned by Acorns Early and administered online in English. Researchers sourced respondents from a non-probability frame using traditional online access panels where respondents opt in for market research incentives and programmatic recruitment where online users receive virtual incentives. Respondents earned points with small cash-equivalent monetary value for completing the survey. Dynamic online sampling adjusted targeting during fielding to achieve specified quotas.
Interviews were excluded from final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures, including identification of speeders (respondents completing surveys faster than one-third of the median interview length), inappropriate or irrelevant text in open-ended responses, bots (identified through Captcha), and duplicate responses (prevented through digital fingerprinting). Cells were only analyzed if they contained a minimum of 80 respondents, with statistical significance calculated at the 95% level. Data was not weighted, though quotas and parameters were implemented to reach the desired sample. The survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.
