Over half (51%) of parents are teaching their children about the current economic downturn in order to make them more aware of the country’s mounting debts, according to a survey by the Co-operative Child Trust Funds.

As well as helping them with their homework or reading them bedtime stories, Mums and Dads are now increasingly giving their youngsters lessons in personal finance. Six out of ten parents believe it is important for their child to understand the state of the UK economy, making reading, writing, arithmetic and recession the 4 Rs at home.

In fact, one in three 6 to 9 year-olds (35%) appear to be concerned by the current economic climate, asking their parents questions about the credit crunch. Overall, 49% of those surveyed revealed that their child had asked them questions about Britain’s troubled financial situation.

However, whilst the majority (64%) of parents feel it is important to educate children about savings and investments to ensure their long-term financial awareness, a worrying 7% admit that their youngsters often ask questions which are beyond their knowledge – and they sometimes have to rely on their older children to provide the answer.

Many parents believe that knowledge equals power when it comes to finances, with 37% under the belief that teachers must place more classroom emphasis on topics such as interest rates.