Tenth of Parents Admit to Taking Own Child’s Christmas Money
Research from the UK’s leading discount website into the financial struggles often associated with the month of January has revealed that a tenth of British parents have already dipped into their children’s Christmas money, given to their youngsters as gifts, to make ends meet.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
When asked, ‘Have you used any of the money that was given to your child as a Christmas gift to make ends meet this month?’ more than a tenth, 11%, of those taking part admitted that they had. Of these, 52% said they had taken the money from the child without them even knowing.
The majority of parents, 35%, who used their child’s Christmas money, said it was to ‘pay off Christmas debts’, whilst 32% said it was for groceries and 24% said it was for utility bills or other household bills. The average amount taken was ‘£30’. However, just 19% of these intended to pay their child back and only 12% asked their child if they could have the money before taking it. 36% simply told their child they’d be having/needing the money.
Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, said the following about the findings of the poll:
“It’s a sad reality that parents have to resort to taking their child’s Christmas gift money to make ends meet. January is a terrible time financially, as Christmas is so costly, so even though it is shocking to hear, it’s somehow not surprising.”
“I think making your child understand that money doesn’t grow on trees is a good way to prepare them for the future. If you have to take money that was meant for them, pay them back, or put some in savings for their future at some point to avoid the guilt.”
