Parents and teens agree

A Schwab study found 70% of teens aged 13 to 17 are very or extremely interested in investing, and 73% of parents say learning it matters a lot.

You are the trusted source

Teens named their parents as their most trusted source of investing advice, ahead of friends, social media and everyone else.

“Teens in the study cited their parents more than any other source for trusted investing advice”

Guided learning, not a fight

Money talk with teens usually turns into a tug of war over control. Investing is the rare topic where most families are already ready to learn together.

Great time, real risk

Teens have more tools and information than any generation before them, plus more exposure to hype and get rich quick content. Bad early habits are hard to undo.

“if they start down the wrong path early, it can be hard to undo”

It teaches more than money

Investing builds patience, discipline and decision making. Those pay off long before a teen sees a meaningful gain.

Share your own mistakes

Saying "here's what I wish I'd done at your age" lands harder than a polished track record. It feels like a shared experience, not a lecture.

“It's more relatable than a lesson”

Tie it to real goals

Teens want to invest for concrete things: starting early (45%), paying for college (34%), buying something big like a car (30%). Anchor the talk there.

Start with what they like

Fractional shares mean a teen can put $20 or $40 into a brand they already follow, instead of needing $1,000 for one share.

Then widen the lens

A favorite brand is the opening, not the plan. Use it to talk about what makes a company worth owning, and why a diversified portfolio beats one bet.

Let them practice first

Mock trading and market simulators let teens feel gains and losses with no real money on the line. It's often their first real encounter with risk.

The 24-hour pause rule

Before acting on anything seen online, wait a day. If your teen can't explain why the investment has value beyond the post, that's the signal to slow down.

“a 24-hour pause before acting on anything your teen sees or hears online”

Pick the right account

Custodial accounts keep parents in control until adulthood. Joint accounts, like Schwab's Teen Investor account, give 13-year-olds ownership with parents still involved.

Time is their edge

68% of parents didn't learn about investing until adulthood, and half wish they'd started sooner. Today's teens have decades of compounding ahead.

“time is the greatest advantage young investors have”