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School pupils run up debts more oftenTuesday 23 June 2009 One in five secondary school pupils shows risky financial behaviour by borrowing money too often and getting into debt, says family budget institute Nibud in its latest report on teenage spending. Some 63% of children borrowed money last year, compared with 45% in 2007, the report says. 'It would appear that they are not aware of the risks attached to borrowing money,' the institute said. Girls, children at trade schools and 15 and 16 year-olds are most likely to run up debts. 'They save less, borrow more often, spend their money easily and find it more difficult to cope with money than other pupils,' the report said. Clothing allowance At the same time, parents are spending more money on their children, the institute said. In 2004, 20% of parents paid children's mobile phone bills but that has now risen to 30%. Five years ago, 30% of parents paid for their children's clothes, the percentage today is 60%. Even in households where children are given a clothing allowance, 32% of parents are still buying their offspring's clothes. This is 'incomprehensible', the organisation said. Some 95% of secondary school children get some form of allowance from their parents and 50% have a regular job. Boys have an average of €155 a month to spend and girls €133, Nibud said. © DutchNews.nl
Boy are my kids in for a shock when they grow up. By Kris | June 23, 2009 4:36 PM Like with every choise parents have to make when it comes to raising their children there is a good and a bad side to making children responcible for their own budget and spending behaviour. Giving children "monitored" responcibility gradualy increasing their own responcibility when they get older seems a good model. But what has happened to a worryless youth where children did not have to worry about any of these things and can wreally be children? For decades already in most Dutch families it was just being provided by your parents. Does it make children more spoiled? Not necessary. But basically there is no ideal sollution, whatever model you choose there will be a down side. Most striking for me in this issue is the fact that children of that age already have acces to a sum of money wich is 75% of wath a chinese worker would make a month, 50% of an Indian and four times the budget of an entire family in for example suburbs of Rio de Janeiro. Do we make our children aware of the value of their money? By Erik van Ryssen | June 24, 2009 12:51 PM I personally was supported from my family until i find the job i currently have. I dont see why children should become "independent" from 15-16. I dont condemn it but i knew how much money my parents could offer me and i was living a life according to that. By kos | June 25, 2009 11:40 AM
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Buying your child some clothes is considered "incomprehensible". What kind of a family relation is that? OK, it is nice to let the kids manage their money and let them know how to spend it but this is so extreme. I think this Dutch behaviour is "incomprehensible" not the other.
By Ozgur | June 23, 2009 4:20 PM