What kind of money parent are you? Take our 2-min quiz to find out.

Commissioned by Eastspring Investments, the Asia Money Parenting survey was conducted among 10,000 parents across 9 Asian countries to find out how parents across the region engage their children about money matters. It revealed 5 money parenting personas that differed based on: the extent of parents’ involvement, the importance parents placed on money parenting, and the level of the parents’ financial knowledge.

Facilitators appreciate the value of money and advocate for a good work ethic and financial independence. The importance of saving and the avoidance of debt are central to their views on money management.

Working for their money is also absolutely necessary and worthwhile. These are the values they want to pass onto their child.

Facilitators are most likely to say, “There is no substitute for real life experience, but parents should provide some guidance so their child knows what to do when it comes to money matters.”

Facilitators believe that a certain discipline is required to save money because having debt makes them feel very uncomfortable. This is why most Facilitators set up a savings account for their child as soon as they are born to reduce the likelihood of them falling into debt.

This is an important step for them as it indicates a commitment to teaching their child how to save from the very start, so that they can rapidly feel the security and satisfaction of having money in the bank.

Facilitators believe that everyone has to work hard to achieve financial security, and that their children should adopt this same work ethic. They therefore actively encourage their child to take a part-time job, so they will earn money, and more importantly learn the value of money through their own experiences.

% whose children earn money from doing a part-time job

This combination of guiding the child to save, and encouraging the child to learn and earn, is what facilitation is all about. Facilitators therefore hope that their way of money parenting will enable their child to be set up for success in their future life when it comes to financial matters.

When it comes to money parenting, Facilitators believe both parents have a role to play. However, some households prefer the mother to lead (28%), while 11% prefer the father.

Avoiding debt and being financially self-sufficient are the main goals they have for their child. Safety and security are very important to Facilitators and therefore central to both their own personal goals and the objectives they set themselves for money parenting.

For Facilitators, this includes having a secure home to provide a solid financial base for the family, and for their child. Life Insurance is also a very important element to provide security for the entire family. Savings accounts for everyone too is an important element in achieving not only real financial security, but also the emotional satisfaction that it brings.

Facilitators believe that if they can deliver these three elements of security, their child will be free to experiment and learn on their own and eventually learn to use money responsibly, build savings, and be financially self-sufficient.

However, most Facilitator parents are not sure if they have done a good job of money parenting — none in fact expressed confidence that they had done a good job with their child in the Asia Money Parenting survey. They are the most likely to say, “I did the best I could, but I’m not sure how good a job I have done”.

% who believe they did the best they could, but are not sure how good

This is partly because achievement of the goal of enabling their child to be self-sufficient, with the right money management values, is something that will only be revealed over time.

Most Facilitators were never taught about investments and financial instruments. This is why they don’t feel that they can or should try to teach anything more than the basics to their child: earn, save, budget, stay out of debt.

However, Facilitator parents are more likely to consult family or the internet for information.

Would Facilitators like to have better financial knowledge? Yes, almost half (47%) say they would.

But even if they did know a lot more about money management, their approach to money parenting would not change. Learning the basic values that underpin financial security is far more important for a child than teaching them about investments like funds, stocks, bonds, and the like. They believe that if they stick to teaching the basics, all will be well.

If you are a Facilitator who is curious about how other parents are money parenting, check out our #MoneyParenting site or subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated with our latest content.