Seven top tips your children need to know about money – by the age of seven

Research carried out by the London School of Economics and O2 reveals that the average child in Britain will spend over £6000 between that ages of seven and 15. While the amount of pocket money is £6.84, children add to this through gifts, part-time work or money earned from doing extra chores around the house to improve their spending power.

Children need to be educated to spend their money wisely, so Dr Rajiv Prabhakar has compiled a list of seven top tips to keep your children on the right financial track:

1. Coin recognition – what coins and money and how to keep money safe.
2. Saving money – knowing how to work out how long it will take to save up for something.
3. Spending – making sure you understand the difference between "wants" and "needs".
4. Basic budgeting – how to keep track of what you've spent and plan ahead.
5. Interest rates – how interest rates make money grow if left for a long time, but how they can also make debt grow.
6. Value of items – learning the difference between expensive and valuable and how something that costs a great deal, won't necessarily maintain its value.
7. Bills – understanding how we pay for services (like mobile phones) and knowing the cost of a text and a call.