The news that parents are spending and are in debt by now is nothing new. What experts are still a little surprised at, though, is how much kids are spending, too. Many of them are scratching their head about why this is happening, and they usually cite some common possibilities:

Modeling from parents

This is the one that usually gets the most attention. The basic premise is that kids watch what their parents do with money and then copy it. If parents are not educated about finance themselves, which many parents aren’t, then they might be showing their kids a lot of bad money habits. Even when parents have some money smarts, they still might spend beyond their known means because they feel so emotionally pressed to keep up with the Joneses.

Lack of parental availability

With many people still struggling to dig out of debt and the general effects of the Great Recession, and with social norms evolving, it’s more and more common for both parents to be in the workforce. Many households have one or both parents trying to take classes to get a better or new degree for a better job, on top of a full work week, and divorce rates mean that it’s not a guarantee for a child to live in a two-parent household. Kids might spend because the parents simply are not available to model or teach what to do, or because the parents do not have the time to monitor everything their kids are buying. With parents spending less time in the home, kids are also looking for ways to occupy themselves, and often, that means buying stuff.

Peer pressure 

You didn’t think that only adults feel the need to keep up with the Joneses, did you? Kids are under pressure to conform to certain standards, as well. In fact, they might be under even more pressure, because kids can be viciously honest about what others look like or should or should not be doing. Some children might be spending the money they have so they can fit into what everyone else is doing and gain a sense of identity and belonging.

Desire for personal gratification

Kids don’t always have a whole lot of freedom, at least compared to adults. When they make a purchase, however, they are doing something they might perceive as “adult.” They get the gratification that comes from having completed the transaction, as well as the gratification that comes from having something new and exciting. Over time, they learn that spending can make them happy for a while. If parents don’t curb this, kids can learn that materialism and happiness are synonymous, and they eventually will need more and more stuff to feel satisfied.

“Now” orientation 

The way kids develop cognitively, physically and socially, they often have a “now” or “immediate” orientation when it comes to money. Until they really get some experience under their belts and their brains have matured a little, they don’t really look to the future, but rather at how they are feeling, thinking and wanting in the moment. As a result, it’s very hard for them to see how a purchase they make today can influence what they are able to do later on.

Is there a solution? 

There are ways to address most of the major reasons kids overspend, but they are not always simple. For example, you could limit how much money your child can take with him when he goes out with friends, for example, but then his buddies might tease him, or he might become the odd man out because he can’t afford to do what the group does. This means that to really address your child’s overspending, you have to look beyond just finance and into other sociocultural areas. Fixing the broader social issues involved is much more complex and difficult than simply teaching your child to teach money. This is why many experts say that when you teach personal or business finance to kids, you’re not raising good investors and savers—you’re raising good