Forget Bank of Mum and Dad, here comes Bank of Dad

We’re all too familiar with the Bank of Mum and Dad – two thirds of first time house buyers rely on what might just be Britain’s most generous bank. And it’s not just property buyers that find it useful – entrepreneurs, too, have been known to get some help from their parents, with 53% of entrepreneurs saying that their businesses could take off only after having been lent a few pennies by their family members.

Well, last week the Bank of Dad emerged. And it seems it’s just a tiny bit less generous than the Bank of Mum and Dad. A six-year-old asked his Dad for an advance on his allowance, and was swiftly turned down in a bank-y manner.

“We regret to inform you at this time that we are unable to provide a loan in the amount requested of $20.00. After reviewing your account, we have found you have insufficient funds, and a history of not doing your chores.”

“…over $80.00 has been spent on discretionary entertainment expenses since Christmas. This is an unsustainable amount of expenditure, and we cannot further compound the problem by financially assisting with occurring further debt at this point”

A little bit harsh maybe? Well, research shows that money habits are formed by the age of seven, and this Dad is probably doing better than most of UK parents – 57% of whom struggle talking money with their kids. In fact, research we did last week even shows that British parents are more than twice as likely to discuss sex with their kids than they are money.

The Bank of Mum and Dad is clearly doing an important job in helping their grown kids, though we do wonder if it might be even better to introduce Bank of Dad at an earlier age.

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