According to research carried out by Engage Mutual Assurance, many parents consider warning children about debt to be more important than educating them about sexually transmitted diseases, racism or religion. The rising costs of living and growing uncertainty about the financial outlook has increased parent's concern.

According to figures compiled by the Consumer Credit Counselling Service on behalf of the BBC, the number of people seeking help for debt problems has risen five fold in the past five years. In the first two months of this year alone almost three quarters of Citizens Advice Bureaux reported dealing with 215,000 new debt. It is not suprising therefore that parent's feel the need to inform their children about the problems associated with debt.

Engage Mutual Assuarnace surveyed 2,000 adults with children under 18 and found that 81% of parents are making a conscious effort to talk to their children about money matters in order to prepare them for adult life. Debt is the most common financial topic of parental education (64%), followed by saving for the future (62%). The only 'facts of life' to be considered more important were drugs and alcohol (78%), personal hygiene (74%), talking to strangers (73%) and 'the birds and the bees' (71%).

These fears are understandable considering the current economic uncertainty. Commenting on the recent collapse of the Bear Stearns bank, which has had reprucussions across the gobe, Melanie Mitchley, Director at Callcredit says: "Since the Northern Rock crisis and the signs of a troubled economy, a quarter of all UK consumers have become more concerned about their finances and understandably, their confidence has been shaken. This latest development is an opportunity to encourage all consumers who both save and borrow to assess their current financial health, and crucially, not take on additional credit they can't afford."

She adds: "In an attempt to avoid debt, consumers need to move away from the 'buy now, pay later' attitude and move towards the 'save now, buy later' mentality." This is sound advice that maybe all of us should pass on to our children.

"The fact that so many parents are prioritising talking to their children about money is a reflection of the increasing strain families are finding themselves under to make ends meet," comments Karl Elliott, 3GB spokesperson for Engage Mutual Assurance. "It is encouraging that so many parents are choosing to talk to their children about money. The needs of the modern family are changing, and it's important that children are prepared for the financial pressures of adulthood."