As we move from why they’re asking to how we’re going to answer, there’s one other overarching issue to keep in mind: gender. A number of polls and studies lay out disturbing parental tendencies. Parents are much more likely to talk to boys than girls about investing, protecting their personal information online, how credit card interest and fees work, whether it’s wise to use check-cashing services and what a 401(k) is. Teen boys in one Charles Schwab survey earned an average of $1,880 from chores and jobs, while the girls earned $1,372. This seems to affect expectations, too, since the boys
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